Saiyan Saga - Part 4: Torrid Alliance

The next morning...

Warm light from the morning sun infiltrated the room slowly, waking Raditz out of what had been his most peaceful slumber to date. He let out a yawn and licked his lips as he rose in one of Capsule Corp's beds, content to merely sit with the covers half-on and marvel at the room before him. Never before had he been able to fall asleep so naturally, what with all his other experiences having been either artificially triggered or accompanied with the obstreperous chatter of fellow soldiers. It felt… nice.

Still, though, the Saiyan realized he could not allow himself to grow wrapped up in this little bubble of serenity. His partners were coming in approximately a year's time, and he knew he would have to go through hell and back just to prepare for his sadistic comrades. Naturally, so would his temporary allies… the Earthlings.

Raditz wrinkled his nose in disgust for the slightest of moments as he slipped out of the bed and went to put on his battle armor, frowning as he came across the sight. To say it had been worn out was an absolute understatement. One of the shoulder guards had been torn off and there were scratches here and there across the breastplates, but the blue-haired woman had promised him she'd take a look at it once everything had 'gotten back to normal' on this pitiful mudball.

The excuse was almost as disgusting as the Earthlings' individual battle powers, but Raditz begrudgingly accepted it. Though he regretted to admit it, he knew full well that he would need every single trained hand against Nappa and Vegeta that he could accrue. He realized that he would need to be slightly understanding of the Earthlings' needs…

...but only slightly.

'According to those posters on the wall, the human body requires anywhere from seven and a half hours to nine hours of sleep to function.' A smile slid onto his face as he looked at the time.

"Seven and a half hours it is, then," Raditz laughed. "Only nine minutes to go until boot camp really kicks in."

Yamcha had been eternally grateful that Bulma and her family had offered her a place to stay during this year of uncertainty. It was a nice upgrade from the small, cramped, and restricted atmosphere of Kame House.

However, he would have gladly downgraded after realizing that meant Raditz would be living in the same space as them.

"Get up!"

Startled out of his sleep by sensing an abruptly weak ki blast, Yamcha immediately sprang to life and threw up the hastiest defense he could've. Not having powered up meant that he ultimately took more damage from it than he would have liked, but he was not about to risk any further damage than he would have ultimately taken.

Though his vision was dazed and ultimately incoherent, there was no mistaking the long-haired figure of his best friend's murderer, his arms folded and his head shaking from side to side. "You'll need to work on that reaction time, fool. Next time, I may not be so careful as to control my power."

Groggy as he was, Yamcha was not about to let this slide. "Are you crazy?!" An eye went over to the digital clock of his room, located on the dresser. "It's four-thirty in the morning!"

"If you lot are half as dedicated as you were to take down the green man to fight these two, you'd be up even earlier than this!" Raditz hissed. "Three-eyes was already awake before I had the chance to wake him up! Being prepared so early is the true mark of a warrior!"

"Could've been the fact that you're responsible for his friend's death…" Yamcha grumbled to himself, his words barely evading Raditz's auditory range. After coughing and clearing his throat, he looked back at the expectant Saiyan. "Gimme a minute to get dressed in my gi; I'll be out in a sec."

"You have a minute and no longer." Raditz turned, pressing a button to open the door. Just before he walked out, he gave another scowl. "If you take a second longer, I will come in there and I will drag you out by your disgustingly long hair." The doors shut.

Yamcha scowled as he fingered the orange material. "Yeah, you're one to talk about hair, Saiyan…" he added, knowing full well Raditz couldn't hear him. He would not complain about the man, however, having acknowledged that he was their strongest asset in their current situation. All he could do was endure. Endure the same way he did under Piccolo's reign.

He would do it a thousand times over if it meant he would get to see Krillin and Chiaotzu again.

At that same moment...

In one of Capsule Corporation's kitchen areas sat the Z-Fighters in a round table. All of Earth's defenders had been arisen from their slumber by the Saiyan, all of them disheveled and unkempt.

"Anyone else think we shoulda sprang to give Raditz somewhere else to stay?" slurred Chi-Chi, her hair an absolute mess. Instead of being neatly done into a ponytail, her hair fell to her shoulders awkwardly. "Guy's gonna keep doin' this for the next year…"

"I don't think he would be very open to that now that he's here," the blue-haired Launch threw out. "And the last thing we all want is to get him angry."

"Yeah, well, at least you have a way out, Launch," jealously remarked Bulma, "what with Kami wanting to train you and all. I'd bet twenty bucks he'll be a heck of a better teacher than mister space guy here…"

Launch looked confused for the slightest of moments before her eyes widened in realization. "Oh! That's right! But I'm still going to be staying here, seeing as how Piccolo's going to be up there for the year…"

"Hn," Tien grunted. "At least up there Kami will be able to monitor the guy. I don't know about you guys, but there's no way I'd be able to sleep a wink if I knew that monster was living here."

"Hell yeah," Yajirobe agreed softly, his voice still not fully woken up yet. "I'd be on edge for the whole damn year. That guy would probably rip our lungs out if he got to stay here."

Just as he'd finished that remark, the samurai detected a flying body headed his way. Acting on instinct, though not without a yelp of fear, he reached out his arms and caught it while using his energy to keep the chair afloat.

"Y-Yamcha?!" everyone collectively gaped. The bandit looked in worse shape than the rest of them, bruises already clear on either of his cheeks and his forehead. Yajirobe set him down on his current chair, moving to the other side of the table as quickly as he could. The culprit was unmistakable, and he did not want to suffer their wrath as well.

"A minute and three seconds," came a gruff voice from the entrance, which upon looking over everyone confirmed to be Raditz. "For having one of the highest battle powers amongst you, long-hair doesn't exactly have the quickest reaction time." Upon there being no defiant reply, Raditz smirked, pleased. "I see you've learned your places for the time being. Now," he said, sliding into the one remaining open chair, "let's talk scheduling."

"S-Scheduling?" Bulma asked, immediately regretting her decision to speak up once the Saiyan's obsidian eyes locked onto her. "W-What do you mean by scheduling?"

Raditz chuckled lowly to himself, a smile coming across his lips that would be considered handsome if it had not been associated with murder. "I'm not a big dumb brute, woman. If I was, I wouldn't be alive today. But anyway… where I come from, we operated on schedules. I'm sure you all did too, to an extent."

"Yeah, but we based how we worked on how Piccolo ruled," Chi-Chi explained. "We didn't exactly have the freedom to work out our own plans."

Raditz narrowed his eyes. "Did I ask?" Chi-Chi paled before him. "Regardless, this time around, we have a specific time we need to be prepared by. We'll be working around the clock to maximize our time. If I'm not wrong, there are six of you that will be training under my supervision. It would not be practical of us to just have you all train in clumps, as you'd only manage to work yourselves to the bone and achieve little of it. As such…" He paused for the moment, making sure all eyes were on him—even those of the wounded Yamcha. "... our schedule will change weekly. Four of you will be working in pairs of two during that time, one of you will have the honor of being directly trained under me, and the other will have a week off from training."

"A full week off?" Chi-Chi narrowed her eyes in suspicion, the offer sounding a little too good to be true. "And that would be because…?"

"Trust me, when you Earthlings see how difficult my individual training is, you will need that week off," sinisterly sneered Raditz. "But we will not be starting anything of the sort just yet. I need time to scope out the planet and see just what I'm working with, so you all will get the day off. Spend it however you like." His eyes twinkled as he stood, beginning a slow stride out of the kitchen. "Come tomorrow, however, the preparation begins. I hope you're ready."

All was quiet as Raditz tapped the red button that rested neatly next to the door, the doors sliding open neatly for him. Just as he took one step out, he looked over his shoulder. "I would also recommend you weaklings get to preparing a meal. Let's just say a Saiyan can get irritable without proper nourishment, and trust me… you do not want me irritated."

"Y-Yeah," Chi-Chi suddenly spoke up, "I got it." Doctor and Mrs. Briefs hadn't woken up yet, but she didn't blame them. If she had been in their position, there would be no doubt that evading the destroyer of worlds would be the first thing on her list.

She could only hope that they could all evade the Saiyan's wrath as well.

"Still at it, I see."

Kami whirled around as soon as he heard his counterpart's baritone voice, the latter chuckling. He stood with his young son, Piano, abreast the guardian and Mister Popo. "Even after I 'redeemed' myself," he sneered, "you seem more keen on watching over Earth than ever."

"Destruction provides us with immediate results," voiced Kami. "Construction, however, takes more time. I do believe in Earth's people to redeem themselves, but I do not expect instantaneous reparations to be made."

"You say this, yet you're so hung up over them that you can't tear your eyes away. Even for a moment." Piccolo smirked. "Well, don't fret. I'm going to release the press statement today; Piano and I planned it out it over the previous evening. You'll be satisfied, I imagine."

"I'd ask to hear it now," spoke the guardian, "but I have the feeling you would deny me that opportunity."

"You know me so well, my counterpart," Piccolo grinned. "There would be no suspense if I did so." He looked over to his son, who eagerly awaited his order. "Come, Piano. Off to the castle." They both took off in flares of white light, descending to the earth below.

"Do you truly have faith in him to deliver an accurate speech, Kami?" Mister Popo asked, concern written in his features. "With his history, who is to say he would not skew things?"

"Admittedly, there is a small risk of him doing exactly that," Kami conceded, his eyes glued to the world below him. ""But I think even Piccolo knows the severity of the situation. What is much less clear, however, is how his plans line up with it…"

Awakening from a deep slumber, Kakarot could already hear the warm chattering of the children as they frolicked about outside his home, bringing a smile to his face. It was incredibly rewarding for him to know that he'd been able to thwart an attack on his home, even if his adversary hadn't been on Frieza's caliber by a long shot. It gave him a renewed sense of hope at the future to come, knowing that in addition to his strength he would have the backing of…

...His smile soon turned to a hardened scowl. 'Articuno,' he thought, the word echoing in his mind and hanging over him like a dark cloud. Try as he did, Kakarot wasn't able to expunge the impurities he saw within the Arcosian—not even the slightest bit. 'He's officially one of us now… and that means I'll have to fight alongside him in the days to come. At the very least, like Master Nail said, his strength will be useful… but who's to say he won't just turn his back on us if he gets the chance to unite with someone stronger?

'I should have faith in the Grand Elder… but I just can't wrap my mind around this one.' Kakarot stood, feeling his body immediately chastise him for doing so, wincing in pain. Despite this, he kept a focused gaze on the door to the outside world. 'That's why I need to find out for myself.'

Silently, Kakarot stepped outside, putting up a facade as he warmly greeted his Namekian brethren. On any other day, he would have been more than inclined to greet everyone in Seilide Village, but today the Namek-raised Saiyan had other priorities.

As he took off into the sky toward his intended destination, Kakarot's warm smile slid into a stoic facial mask. 'Grand Elder Guru and Elder Moori are two of the most trustworthy people I know. Yet… I can't trust them this time. Not entirely. For once, I need to do something on my own without the consult of my brothers.

'I need to know the undisputed truth.'

Kakarot kicked up his speed at that very moment, a lone rocket traveling through the sky. He seeked independence on this quest; on his own, he seeked the truth. Though the physical strife of this conflict had ceased, the spiky-haired warrior required closure on the mental portion of it all.

"Citizens of Earth, this is your king speaking. I bring to you today not a threat of destruction… but an opportunity for change. It has been no secret to me that there are those in this world that are not necessarily willing to live in accordance with my rule. The ones I mentioned in my previous broadcast are not the only ones, either. I know that there are those of you who yearn for a new world—or, perhaps, the world of old. After a serious amount of time contemplating the pros and cons of our society reverting back to what it had been eight years ago, I have decided that it is, indeed, time for change.

"I do this not out of the goodness of my heart. As your king, I do not lie to you… and even if I had not said this, I'm sure none of you would have believed I had changed my belief system. Recently, I have received word from a reliable source that two aliens are on their way to our planet in an attempt to purge our population and sell our planet off. Having heard this information, you can understand why, in fact, I believe we need to become a more organized populace. It is either that we change our ways as a society or perish as a whole. Though a demon king I am, a blind madman I am not. I am working intensively with some of the Earth's finest warriors in order to save our planet from this threat.

"This brings me to my last point. Much like how I handled our original transformation of society, I will be having enforcers to monitor progress. You are to work together as civil, mature, and intelligent life forms in order to bring back the kind of civilization you had prior to my taking the throne. Failure to comply with these orders will result in swift execution. Though it may be a dawn of a new day, remnants of the past shall always remain… and, after all, it's a disciplinary system you're all used to.

"That will be all. Go ahead and spread word of this message to all you know, for there cannot be a moment wasted."

High above the Earth, Kami furrowed his brow in thought. 'He complied with our goals… but to do such a thing so easily implies he's got a plan. Everyone surely knows he has something up his sleeve, but who would have expected him to be so… submissive?'

"Kami."

The guardian turned, finding his loyal servant standing before him. "Ah, sorry, Mr. Popo. I must've gotten too swept up on matters on Earth."

The genie gave him a knowing look. "That is okay." He paused. "Anyway, Launch, the one you requested to see, is here." He gestured toward the shy woman by extending his arm. "Is there anything else I can do for you?"

"That will be all, thank you. You may go for the moment if you so wish."

"Nonsense," Mr. Popo said with a smile. "If I am to help in the young lady's training, I will stay right here."

"I understand," Kami nodded. He then turned his attention to the blue-haired Launch, who seemed to be marveling at the sight of the palace. "Welcome, Launch. I trust you've rested well from yesterday."

"H-Huh?" she replied, innocently looking over at the guardian and his assistant. Regaining her bearings, she nodded her head. "Yup. Everyone's feeling a lot better… even if Raditz isn't exactly the nicest guy around."

"I could surmise that much during our meeting yesterday, yes," Kami agreed. "However, we will all benefit from his presence. In addition to his power, he can help us grow stronger… which is what we will need to bring down the Saiyans." He smiled. "Your blonde self rendering Raditz's ship unflyable gave us a fighting chance against the threat to come."

"Hehehe," Launch laughed softly. "Yeah, I guess we sorta got lucky with that one."

Kami nodded. "Hn. Lucky." He looked away for the briefest of moments. "I don't like that word. It implies fortune pitied us. That we were not strong enough on our own." His gaze returned to Launch. "But sadly, lucky is the best word to describe it. We were not strong enough to fend off Raditz's assault. It took the sacrifice of one of our own to even cause him true, lasting damage… and while our odds bettered after that sacrifice, who knows what would've happened had his comrades not interrupted him?"

"...It wouldn't have been good." Launch visibly cringed at the thought. Her blue-haired persona wasn't one to show much doubt and worry if she could help it, but even she could not deny how close a call they'd had. "He was just… freakishly strong. He beat up Piccolo like it was nothing."

"Not just that," Kami supplemented, "but he was able to single-handedly dominate all of Earth's remaining forces." He closed his eyes. "But that is not the only thing we need to worry about. The problem is not simply rectified by forging a temporary alliance with him—that only allows Earth to survive for one more year at the very least Provided we win against his fellow Saiyans' might, he will do whatever he deems necessary to survive on his own. If that means killing us to form another alliance, I have little doubt he will do such a thing."

"Without being disrespectful, Mister Kami, we already kinda knew that."

Kami smiled. "Of course. You are all intelligent human beings—your survival up to this point is proof of that. But regardless… thinking about this matter concerns me greatly." His brow furrowed as his grin flipped upside down. "We are not going to close the gap between ourselves and Raditz during this period of training. For every ounce of power we all gain, I believe Raditz will gain twice as much… if not even more so. Mere human beings will not be able to bring him down."

"Is that why you had Krillin and Chiaotzu stay in the Other World for training?" asked Launch innocently. "You said they'd be getting really strong… maybe even on Raditz's level."

"Their trainer is an incredible one... far superior to even myself," Kami began, "and most certainly a better instructor than that of Raditz. The only reason I am allowing Earth's warriors to train under him is due to his incredible power. They have all already proven themselves to be beyond my teachings when it comes to battle power."

"Then… what about me?" Launch scratched her head. "And what about Bulma? You called me up here, but not her."

Kami nodded. "That is correct. I specifically wanted to mentor you, Launch, due to your… unique characteristics." He kept a hard face, all business. "You have one side of you that is peaceful, gentle, and loving. You have another that is angry, fiery, and almost savage-like in nature. I don't know what could have triggered this unique divide, and as callous as this may sound, it does not matter. What does matter is that we find a way for you to make the most out of it."

"So… are you saying you want me to figure out how to control it?" the bluenette responded slowly. "'Cause that's easy. It's when I sneeze."

"To a degree, yes." Kami smiled. "But it is not merely about controlling which side of you is conscious. It is about unlocking the unique potential that is burrowed within you."

Launch's eyes widened to the size of dinner plates at this sudden revelation. "W-What?!"

A lone rocket could be seen arcing through the sky at incredible speeds, cloaked by a translucent aura that lagged behind him idly. The winds roared in defiance as the Saiyan warrior, Raditz, ripped straight through them, his eyes wandering from side to side in search of his ideal training spots. 'Now… where else could there be…?'

He'd already discovered three suitable locations during his flight, ones which he'd mentally marked and tucked away for later recollection. The variance that Earth offered was truly astounding to him—one side of the Earth had offered him nothing more than scorching, barren, and arid land; the other brought him chilled, freezing, and blizzard-filled wastelands.

"This planet would sell remarkably well, I'd imagine…" Raditz thought aloud. After a brief moment of reviewing what he'd just said, he shook his head. "No. I can't think that way for now. Earth, for now, is my place of residence … and I must fight like it actually matters to me. In the event that I can knock off Nappa and Vegeta, I can either return to Frieza…" He paused for a long second, knowing just how well he'd be received if he managed to bring down two warriors of a much higher status than himself. "...or make a go of it on my own. I'm sure others have done it—hell, maybe little brother managed to pull it off." Despite of how much more freedom he'd knew he'd have provided he succeeded, there was no denying how risky of a play it would be.

Just before he picked out the fourth and final location that his band of warriors would train in, the Saiyan warrior internally concluded that he had time to spare before considering this life-altering decision. After all, he knew there was no use in preparing for the future if he could not survive the present.

As one brother flew in the troposphere of Planet Earth, another descended onto a isolated portion of Namekian soil neatly. He took a look straight forward, sizing up the sight in his mind, before beginning a slow stride up to the rectangular spaceship that would provide him with the answers he seeked. He stood just before the entrance awkwardly for five long moments before the doors slid open, granting him access to the spaceship of his former foe.

The first thought that ran through his mind was how… casual it all seemed. He was surprised by the lack of an elegant and sophisticated atmosphere that seemed to ooze from the Arcosian's pores, though he somehow suspected that this opening room was a facade for the later rooms he would look through. 'After all,' he figured, 'I'm willing to bet he's given his crew a life of luxury if they keep quiet about his misdeeds.'

Just as he made himself comfortable in one of the recliner chairs present, having the agility to quell the recliner's sudden spring motion, he saw a large bulldog, purple in skin but with a prominent red-hued jaw, appear in one of the many doorframes that connected to this room. "Heya. So I'm gonna guess you're, uh… Kakaroot, right?"

"It's Kakarot," the Namek-raised Saiyan half-spat. Realizing the bitter undertone that accompanied his voice, he attempted to quell his apprehensive nature. 'My qualms are not with this man or any of the others… it's with a lack of knowledge that I must fix.'

"Whoa, sorry there," the Granian put up his paws innocently. "Honest mistake is all. Not like I've met you before or anything."

Kakarot put up a hand. "It's all right. I'm sorry for being a bit… on edge lately. It's not every day where someone tries to forcibly recruit you into being their ally."

Victus quirked his brow. "Forcibly?" he asked, frowning. "That's not the Articuno I know. He's a tough fighter, sure, but I've never seen him attack without being attacked first."

"That's part of the reason I came here today, to be truthful with you," the Saiyan admitted, standing up. "I want the truth behind this guy. The first time I ever laid eyes on him was when he had my master defeated in battle, standing over him almost as if he was ready to kill him… needless to say, I was incensed." He sighed, dropping his arms to his sides. "I acknowledge I've probably held this grudge too long… but I just need confirmation."

Nonchalantly, Victus shrugged. "No harm in doin' that. You realize that the guy's done a lot for me and everyone else, though, so you're probably not going to hear that many negatives about him if that's what you want."

"I recognize that, yes. I would've gone to the Grand Elder if I wanted the core details. However, I've learned not to take things at face value… even from him... and try and develop my own opinions regarding matters." A steely expression came over him subconsciously. "I want to hear everything about him that there is to hear, know everything about him that there is to know. I want to understand what compelled you all to join his cause despite his less-than-respectable background."

"You're pretty serious, aren't you?" laughed the chef. "Anyway, I'm more than happy to shed some light on Articuno. If you want, I'll grab everyone else and whip us all up some grub."

"G-Grub?" Kakarot asked. "I don't follow."

"...Yeah, you and Articuno are cut from the same cloth. He didn't know what that meant either. But I'll get to that in a minute." He smiled. "Grub is basically another way to say food. I may not be as bright as you four-syllable word using folk, but I bet I can cook better than anyone here."

Though Kakarot still maintained his serious demeanor, his stomach did otherwise, rumbling loudly. Awkwardly, he looked toward the grinning bulldog, flustered. "I could take you up on that offer. Other than the food that Porunga provides me with, which is magically materialized anyway, I don't get much to eat."

"Porunga?" he asked. "Tell you what. I'll tell you all you wanna know, but in return you gotta tell me all about this place. Just from looking through some of these windows, I can tell this planet is a little… err, different… than others."

"By all means," Kakarot said. "Lead the way."

The long and winding trail known as Snake Way was, quite literally and metaphorically, a deceptive beast. The blue-skinned serpent road looked as if it would be child's play for its two travelers to traverse, seeing as how they had already both mastered the power of flight, but as the duo made their way through they soon started to realize the accuracy of King Yemma's statistics for the menacing journey.

"One… hah… one million kilometers…" the first of the travelers panted, out of breath despite his deceased status. "And at the end of this… is the guy we're looking for…"

"Yeah… and there's still so much more to go, I bet…" slowly answered the second, equally as fatigued. "...Are we really gonna be able to do this…?"

"Hah… hah… you bet we are," determinedly declared the first. "Gonna be honest, I didn't think a dead body could hurt so much… but it's not gonna stop me. If we're gonna be revived in one year… we have to be ready!" He would have pounded his fists together to emphasize his point would it have not taken so much more out of him already. "I can tell… we're at least gonna get somewhat stronger from this trip. And if this King Kai guy is really as good as Kami and King Yemma said he is, then we're gonna be able to beat those Saiyans into the ground."

"I hope so…" said the other. "We gotta keep going… but my body's really starting to give out on me…"

The first of the two gave his counterpart a once-over before he broke out into a smile. "Heh heh… yeah, me too. Guess that speech wasn't good for much after all, huh?" He let his legs give out on him at long last, falling to the smooth road below him awkwardly. From there, he looked up at his hovering accomplice. "C'mon, there's no law saying we can't break for now. It won't do us all that much good if we manage to kill ourselves a second time!"

And so the two paused their journey for the time being, chatting innocently as if they'd never passed away in the first place. As they did so, waiting for their post-mortem bodies to replenish their stamina, they were oblivious to the very real threat that was manifesting down on Earth…

...a threat both new and old.

Greetings to you all on this fine Wednesday, everybody!

I have to say, this is the first chapter where a lot of things happened at once. Admittedly, I can understand if you, the readers, felt a little overwhelmed by this. However, we've returned to the point where both Namek and Earth will receive their rightful screentime, so while I'll do my best to manage things, I can't do much more than that. I am only human, after all.

One thing I'd like to make note of is just how… authoritative Raditz really is. For all those of you that were skeptics and expected me to redeem the man straight off the bat, here is consolation that I won't be doing just that. Raditz, in my humble opinion, is the most unique character I've got going on Earth, and I don't want to spoil that for a long while(if at all, really - I certainly didn't keep him around to be a Vegeta clone). Him being an unofficial dictator to the Z-Fighters while the rest of the world is living in harmony is… rather ironic, but remember, oppression is the name of the game(or, rather, the volume). I'm building to something here, and hopefully the payoff will be worth it.

On the topic of story progression: we saw some denouement last chapter, but this was the chapter that provided that true sense of closure on the demonic era of Earth and also began to tie into the final portion of Namek's denouement. All that truly remains is Kakarot and Articuno's eventual encounter and the Saiyan either coming to terms with his ways or not. We'll see what happens with those two, but rest assured that their dynamic will still have a long way to go no matter what happens. Once that whole portion wraps up, we'll be getting a healthy dose of action once again. I've already hinted at something going down on Earth, but don't think that Namek will be slighted… if anything, the three man band is set to receive more exposure than the Earth's heroes.

Speaking of Earth's heroes(or more specifically, one of Earth's heroes): Don't worry. Launch is not about to become massively overpowered or anything of the sort. Kami is merely referring to her unique capabilities that I have merely chosen not to reveal yet in-story for dramatic purposes. That's the whole thing about this entire chapter, really; it's a way to build suspense till next Wednesday(and while it is Thursday where I live, it's still Wednesday on PST, which is how FFN operates - sorry about that, but I didn't get home till 11 and so couldn't write the responses till now). Things seem to be happening quickly, but in reality, we're slowly building toward the next sequence of events that will help transition us into some exciting stuff.

So on that note, see you next Wednesday!

maximusrexmundi: I do have a bit of an odd question: what is your take on the evil containment wave? In my opinion it was a stupidly powerful move that canon grossly underutilized. It was basically the spirit bomb of the Dragonball series. I realize that, in theory, it was deadly, but then again, so was the Tri-beam, and Tien spammed that like it was his job.
As a side question, like the evil containment wave, Dragoball introduced a ton of other awesome plot points/abilities that Goku convently dealt with (I'm thinking that Gourd that sucked people in and turned them into power, the devilmite ray (kills anyone by turning their inner evil against them), Or that random door to the demon world that Goku closed lol) and I was wondering if you had any plans to integrate those aspects of the Dragonball world?

It is a move with great power but obvious severe drawbacks. I think that, given how everyone just continued to progress in both fighting skill and power, Toriyama didn't see much of a need for it other than to use it as hype for the only way to take down King Piccolo. It's merely one of his many inventions he would soon forget, but in this case I think it was for the better. Just because he doesn't use it doesn't mean that I will discard it so easily, however. You'll just have to wait and see.

As for your other query, those kinds of gimmicks would suit Dragon Ball better than they do Dragon Ball Z. As such, the odds of me working with them from here on out are slim to none. Cameos aren't out of the question, but as for major plot points? Probably not. I think that, later down the road, you may find what you're looking for.

-super mystic gohan: wow finally a update though you stop this story glad you didn't was very interesting in reading this and by the way the demon king should know even if he faced all the human z- fighters together he get beaten right?

Err... I'm pretty sure I mentioned I just wasn't uploading, didn't I? Anyway, I think that would be made obvious by now. The only reason Piccolo would even remotely tolerate working with the humans and Raditz is because he wouldn't be able to kill them all on his own.

-Rersh: The biggest question I have right now, it's if Vegeta will survive, although judging for how the things look right know that seem unlikely.

I hope that I have proven that I tend to deviate from the norm by now. Many fics that keep Raditz around do not do so for Vegeta or vice versa, but we'll just have to see about mine. Remember, I've expressed before that I will do what works best for the narrative I want to tell and nothing less.

kideaxl: As always I loved the Namek portion of this chapter. The Earth parts were well done, as well, especially with the Saiyans. I can't wait until the two meet. I patiently wait until Goku gets through his racists mindset. It's a little jarring that he's filled with a different kind of hate. I supposed it's to be expected, he's not exactly 'pure of heart' like canon. Quick question, will Goku at any point be involved with the Saiyan arc, you know with Nappa and Vegeta? Anyway, glad to have you back.

I couldn't just do this story and make Kakarot a 100% good guy. First off, that's what he is in canon, and second off, I don't want him to be a perfect clone of the Namekians. Otherwise he's just a Namekian with a different skin color and naming scheme. What I wanted to create is someone who is struggling with his identity and the true influence of the world and people around him, and I feel I've done just that.

-Steamroller: How many chapters do you actually have ready right now after your break?

In truth, not many. I only have Chapter 18 left as a full chapter and then a portion of 19 done. It seems silly that I made you all wait three months just for three chapters, but for the time being it will be worth it. Life just happened to get in the way during that break and so I did a little less than I wanted to. I'm still ahead of myself, however, and I plan to use this weekend as a way to get even further.