After lunch, it was quiet in the hospital room. Goku was snoring, Chi-Chi was dozing in the big armchair and Sitara had made herself as comfortable as she could on one of the chairs. She wished she could train again. Sitting in a room all the time, waiting, she didn't like that at all. A noise made her sit up, then soft footsteps. Gohan was sneaking past her.

"Where are you going now?" she asked him in a whisper. Gohan froze. He had thought Sitara was asleep too. He stuttered, but couldn't get a full sentence out. She shrugged her shoulders. "I'll come with you."

They left the room and went out onto one of the many balconies that led all around the building. Gohan hung onto the railing on the outside and did pull-ups. Sitara was amazed. He was fiercely determined to get Piccolo back.

When a cramp seized him in his arm, he let go of the edge and fell. Sitara caught him and put him back on the balcony. "Please don't train alone, okay? Piccolo and your father would be so proud of you for how quickly you get back into training." Gohan smiled. They trained for a while longer and Sitara also did some strength exercises before they went back to the hospital room.

Goku greeted them. Chi-Chi was nowhere to be seen. "Ah, there you are again. Chi-Chi is looking for Gohan."

Gohan sat down on his bed and reached for the glass of water that was on the table beside the bed. Sitara, too, poured herself water from a carafe on the table beside the window and emptied the glass in one go.

"Your son has been training," she said, looking at Goku. He smiled proudly at Gohan. Sitara continued. "I would like to fly with them."

"I ask you to stay." Goku looked at her pleadingly.

"Why?" She didn't want to stay here and be condemned to do nothing if there was a way to bring Piccolo back to life.

"I've spoken to Bulma. Her father is already working at high pressure on another spaceship that will be as fast as Kami's. He will be able to ready it in a few days. On board, there will be the possibility to train with increased gravity." He paused. Sitara swayed her head back and forth thoughtfully. "Please," Goku whispered.

Sitara considered. Then her curiosity triumphed. She wanted to test how strong Goku really was. "All right."

"Thank you!" Beaming with joy, he looked at Sitara.

Ten days later, Sitara flew to Master Roshi's island with Chi-Chi, her father, the Ox-King and Gohan. Bulma was already waiting for them there with the Namekian spaceship. She was wearing a yellow and black spacesuit, had cut her hair and looked extremely bad-tempered. Krillin was standing next to her. Wearing a baseball cap and without his battle suit, Sitara almost didn't recognise him. Master Roshi greeted them with a wave as Chi-Chi's car landed on the island.

Sitara helped unload the luggage. Chi-Chi had insisted that Gohan be prepared for any eventuality.

"Are you serious?" Bulma pointed at the pile of bags and suitcases. "This is not a pleasure trip!"

"My little boy has to study in between. He's already missed so much at school," Chi-Chi defended the masses of luggage.

Resigned, Bulma threw her hands in the air and turned away. She positioned herself under the spaceship, which looked like a bulbous insect with a spiky back, what stood on four stilts. "Piccolo!"

Sitara's head whipped around. Had Bulma just spoken his name? Then the lower part of the spaceship floated down to them and Sitara understood. 'Piccolo' was the code word to open the ship.

Bulma, Krillin and Gohan climbed onto the platform, their luggage placed there as well. The goodbyes were short. Chi-Chi burst into tears, not wanting to let her son go. Gohan was uncomfortable with his mother's outburst of emotion and looked down at the ground in embarrassment. Sitara could well understand his emotional state. His mother had forced him to put on a fancy suit and had insisted that he get his hair cut. The hairstyle did not suit him at all and made him look like a scared schoolboy.

When it was Sitara's turn to see Gohan off, she knelt down in front of him and hugged him to her. "I put a little surprise in your pocket," she whispered in his ear so his mother wouldn't hear.

Gohan nodded. Sitara jumped off the platform and waved at them as they floated upwards and disappeared into the belly of the spaceship. Only moments later they took off and after a short while the spaceship disappeared from their sight. Sitara hoped that the battle suit would please Gohan.

The next day Sitara entered the hospital again. After Gohan had been discharged, she had either been with him and his mother in their house or in their hut. She had only visited Goku once a day to assess his recovery progress.

His attending physician still insisted on strict rest in bed, but Sitara saw how Goku suffered from immobility. She could well imagine how he felt. Being confined to bed as a fighter was one of the highest punishments there could be.

When Sitara entered his hospital room after knocking, she knew immediately what had been bothering her all this time. She had not been able to sense his aura. Goku was not in his room. Sitara cursed softly. She closed her eyes and concentrated. Goku's aura was not nearby. He had left the hospital.

She widened her search but could not see him in the immediate surroundings. Deciding quickly, she opened the window and flew out. Slowly she flew over the busy city and tried to sense Goku's aura. But only after she had left the city a few miles behind did she think she could sense him. She accelerated her flight. His energy was weakening. He must be in pain.

Searching, she flew over a rocky plain and finally spotted Goku thanks to his orange battle suit. He was lying on his stomach and not moving. Again a curse escaped her and she landed close to him.

Carefully, she turned him over and spoke to him. Breathing heavily, Goku opened one eye and looked at her.

"It was a stupid idea, wasn't it?" Goku tried to laugh, but immediately let it go as it made the pain worse.

"Well, apparently stubbornness is also a Saiyan trait," Sitara stated, picking him up in her arms. "I hope Chi-Chi doesn't notice. She can get pretty pissed off."

Against his will, Son-Goku had to grin. "I think Chi-Chi is the strongest woman there is." Then he closed his eyes and gave in to a grateful unconsciousness to block out the pain.

Sitara flew him back to the hospital and bandaged his wounds before Chi-Chi or the doctors noticed anything about his trip. She thought about his words and wondered briefly if she should be offended that he thought Chi-Chi should be more powerful than her. But then she shook her head. He had certainly meant that she was the strongest earth woman. He might be right about that, though.

Sitara sat down next to Goku's bed and listened to his breathing. Her thoughts wandered. Maybe she could look for the Dragonballs on Earth when Piccolo and Kami were alive again and wish to regain her memory. It gnawed at her that she did not know where she came from. Goku was firmly convinced that she would also be nice if she hadn't lost her memory, but she wasn't so sure. Neither Raditz, nor Nappa, nor Vegeta had been "nice", but had come to Earth with the firm intention of wiping out its inhabitants or even destroying Earth.

And something else gave her no peace. Why hadn't anyone come looking for her? Surely she had set out with a fixed mission, which she had obviously not fulfilled. Did it bother anyone that she had not returned from her mission? Did no one miss her?

Sighing, Sitara stood up. These gloomy thoughts were not good. She stroked Goku's shoulder. "I'll be back tomorrow," she muttered and flew to her forest.

The next few days were an ordeal for Sitara, as she was doomed to wait. The spaceship she and Goku were supposed to fly to Namek in was not yet ready and Goku was still tied to his bed. Frustrated, she trained alone as much as possible and continued to visit Goku once a day.

When she entered the hospital room that day, she found more people there than usual. Besides Chi-Chi, the Turtle Hermit was also present, as well as the fat Yajirobe. Only one was no longer in the room.

"Where is Goku?"

Chi-Chi, who was in the process of packing up Goku's things, shrugged. "He ate a Senzu Bean and flew off immediately like that. There's trouble on Namek," she said, not looking at Sitara.

Sitara's gaze slid to Yajirobe, who raised his hands defensively. "I was just dropping off the Senzu Beans."

Then she looked to Master Roshi. "Bulma has contacted us from Namek. Their spaceship was damaged and they can't leave the planet. Also, Vegeta seems to be on Namek as well."

Sitara clenched her fists. How could everything always go so wrong?

"Where is Goku now?"

Chi-Chi let out a sob before answering. "Probably at Bulma's parents to go on a suicide mission. My poor boy ..." Sitara barely noticed her wailing. She jumped through the window and raced to the Briefs' estate.

In the garden she saw a space capsule. Dr Briefs was standing in front of it, waving. The door to the capsule slowly closed. Sitara went into a dive and just managed to dart through the crack in the door before the hatch closed completely.

Goku, who was about to turn the knobs of the ship, stared at her in amazement. "What are you doing here?"

"Didn't we agree to train together?" She glared at him angrily.

"Uh, yeah, but I ..."

"No way. I'll fly with you and we'll train on the way."

Goku realised there was little point in contradicting Sitara and pressed the take-off button. In an instant they lifted off. The acceleration swept them both off their feet. In no time the space capsule had left the atmosphere and was in space.

Goku went to the control panel, which was in the middle of the large space capsule. "Here, Sitara. Dr. Briefs has installed a gravity generator. With it, we can increase the gravity as much as we want and exercise while we do it."

"Well, switch the thing on and let's get started." They high-fived each other. Goku set the gravity to 20 G and they began training as the space capsule moved further and further away from Earth.

It didn't take long for Sitara and Goku to get used to the gravity. Sitara was enjoying the training. Her muscles were tensed to the utmost, sweat ran down her back. She felt good. After the training she could take a shower, help herself to the bulging refrigerator and lie down in a soft bed. She was sure that the Saiyan in her had the upper hand.

Goku and she no longer followed a set daily routine. They only stopped training when one of them was hungry or so tired they couldn't keep their eyes open. Little by little, they increased gravity.

When Goku was about to change the gravity to 50 G, he froze in mid-motion and looked up. Then he smiled. "I'm fine, thank you. Sitara is here too, by the way," he said. Sitara looked at him questioningly. Was he hearing voices now?

Suddenly she also heard a voice in her head that seemed vaguely familiar. "Who is Sitara?" She thought for a moment, then remembered. It was King Kai.

"Hello, King Kai," she said. She felt as if someone was watching her, scrutinising her from top to bottom.

"How do you do? Pleased to meet you!" said King Kai. Sitara thought she felt a smile. "Hey, hands off!" suddenly shouted King Kai. What was going on now?

"Sitara, is it really you?"

Her breath caught in her throat. She couldn't believe her ears. She had to deceive herself.

"Hey, Piccolo," Goku said. So he had heard the voice too. She had not imagined the voice. Tears of happiness welled up in her eyes. She could not hold them back.

"Yes, I'm here," she breathed, feeling a little strange speaking to someone she couldn't see. But she imagined she could feel his presence.

"How are you?" asked Piccolo gently.

"I'm okay. And you?"

"Well, pretty good, I guess. I got to keep my body and in with Yamcha, Tien Shinhan and Chiaotzu on King Kai's planet for training."

"They were much faster than you on the snake way, by the way, Goku," King Kai interjected. Goku made a pained expression that forced a smile from Sitara.

Goku did not comment further on the fact that the four warriors were on King Kai's planet. "King Kai, we are on our way to the planet Namek. There we will search for the Dragonballs to revive Piccolo and the others. Bulma already left for the planet a few days ago with Gohan and Krillin. She told us that Vegeta is there too. And another guy who is supposed to be much stronger than Vegeta." Goku's expression darkened.

"I'll put out some feelers." King Kai was silent for a moment. Then he sucked in a sharp breath. "Goku, you must turn back at once! On Namek is Frieza. He is the strongest warrior in the Universe!"

Sitara looked over at Goku. He grinned briefly, then said, "No. I can't do that. My son is on the planet. The spaceship is damaged. They can't go home."

"Then collect them and leave the planet immediately!"

"So this Frieza is really stronger than Vegeta?" Goku didn't seem to be listening to King Kai at all.

"Don't even think about it! You don't stand a chance against him!" King Kai's voice grew louder and louder.

"Goku, revive me and then wish me onto the planet Namek. Then we will fight Frieza together." The anticipation of the fight clearly resonated in Piccolo.

"No, you may not. A fight with Frieza is out of the question. Do you understand?" King Kai tried again to talk them out of it. Goku and Piccolo answered his question in the affirmative, but in Goku's eyes Sitara saw it flash and certainly it did in Piccolo's. Those stubborn ones! Sitara couldn't help grinning and hoped King Kai wouldn't see it.

"Well, keep up your training," Goku said. They heard an unvoiced murmur of 'thank you' and 'see you soon'.

"Sitara?" Piccolo addressed them once more.

"Huh?"

"Take good care of yourself, okay?" said Piccolo gently.

"Sure thing," she said softly. Then she no longer felt his presence.

She put a hand on her chest and felt her heart beating fast. Redness rose to her face. She wished so much to be near Piccolo again. A tear ran down her cheek.

"Hey." Goku stood forward and placed a hand on her shoulder. She quickly wiped the tear away and looked up at him. "Let's keep training."

Sitara smiled at him. "You want to fight this Frieza, don't you?"

Goku winked at her. "I have to see if he's really the strongest, don't I?"

Sitara had to laugh. She had already thought that. "Maybe I'll defeat Frieza!"

King Kai turned to Piccolo and looked up at him. Yamcha, Tien Shinhan and Chiaotzu also looked at Piccolo. A slight blush formed on his cheeks. "What are you all staring at?" he asked the others harshly.

Quickly, all but King Kaiolooked in other directions and took a few steps away from the green one. King Kai raised an eyebrow. He seemed to want to say something, but then he closed his mouth again. Piccolo gave him another angry look and then sat down in the shade of a tree and closed his eyes. Hopefully time would pass quickly before he could be revived. Fighting this Frieza appealed to him, but the prospect of seeing Sitara again soon motivated him even more.

Sighing, he concentrated on the powers hidden deep inside him. The others behaved ridiculously as they tried to chase after a monkey. He didn't need these games to become stronger.

After some time, he was annoyed. He went to King Kai. "Let me train at last!" said Piccolo to the smaller one. "This is all kin stuff. How are we supposed to learn anything?" He made a sweeping gesture, catching Yamcha, Tien Shinhan and Chiaotzu, who were taking turns trying to catch the monkey. "Somewhere in this universe, there is someone running around who is stronger than me. It's really getting on my nerves," he said emphatically.

King Kai sighed. Piccolo was impatient. "All right, then, fight the other three." They listened up and came closer.

"The three of us against Piccolo?" asked Tien Shinhan, eyeing the Namekian. "Good idea!" He instantly moved into an attack stance.

"You don't stand a chance against me, you gnomes." Piccolo saw no challenge in fighting the three.

"Please don't argue, but fight fairly!" urged King Kai to the combatants and moved away a few yards.

Chiaotzu jumped towards Piccolo and clung to his back. Power-wise, he had no chance against Piccolo, but with the help of his telekinetic powers, he inflicted pain on the taller one, while Yamcha and Tien Shinhan took turns attacking Piccolo, which Piccolo struggled to fend off.

Piccolo jumped up to get some air, used his demon arm to grab Chiaotzu and pull him down from his back. He rammed the boy into the ground. Silently, Piccolo acknowledged that the three of them fought better than he had imagined. He wanted to take off his turban and cloak to be more agile with the lost weight, but King Kai intervened.

"That's enough. We'll do something else now." Questioningly, everyone looked at him. "We're laughing!" And King Kai began to laugh.

Shaking his head, Piccolo moved away from the group. "What morons."

Vegeta smiled triumphantly. He looked at the ball, which was about the size of his head, from all sides. It sparkled in the light of the three suns. Inside it, he could make out orange stars. Four stars. So this was a dragonball.

"Please. You must ... not ..." The words came haltingly from the lips of the Namekian who was lying on his stomach near Vegeta. Bleeding from several wounds, he tried to crawl to Vegeta. He reached out his arm to the Saiyan.

"Shut up, you worm!" A narrow beam of energy from Vegeta's index finger pierced the man lying on the ground. Fine smoke rose from the wound. The Namekian remained motionless.

With a disgusted expression on his face, Vegeta let his eyes wander over the small village. The handful of houses that had clustered in a circle near the lake were partially destroyed. The inhabitants had resisted when Vegeta had demanded the Dragonball. Now they all lay dead on the ground.

Vegeta searched for nearby auras, but no living thing was here. This ability to sense the energies of others without a scouter was extremely handy. Why hadn't he noticed this before? It gave him a considerable advantage in battle.

He turned back to the Dragonball, looked at it again briefly and then dropped it into the lake. This was where he would leave it. Surely Frieza and his men would not find the ball here so quickly.

Frieza! An unbridled anger filled Vegeta at the thought of him. For a long time he had hated the long-tailed wretch who ordered him, the prince of the Saiyans, around like a simple servant. He despised himself for being dependent on Frieza. Without Friezar's doctors who had patched him up after the fight against Kakarot, he would surely have died.

He would prevent Frieza from finding all the Dragonballs at all costs. He had already killed two henchmen - Cui and Dodoria - after all, so they couldn't help in the search for once.

When Vegeta thought of fat Dodoria, his stomach turned. Not only because he was a disgusting guy, but because of what he had told Vegeta. That his home planet, planet Vegeta, had not been destroyed by a comet, but by Frieza himself. And he had spared Vegeta to humiliate him, every day. To show him over and over again how much more powerful he was. Vegeta knew he was weaker than Frieza, but sometimes Freezer had provoked him to the point of almost attacking Frieza blind with rage. If his closest ally hadn't held him back every time, Vegeta probably wouldn't be alive now.

Vegeta allowed himself another moment to reminisce. Fond memories this time. When he had been far away from Frieza with his squad to conquer some planet for him, there had also been times when he had felt good, even cheerful. After they had cleared the planet of the population, they had usually stayed there for another day, drinking and partying, before they had to return to Frieza.

But now Vegeta was the only one left from this troop. Before the negative thoughts could catch up with him again, he flew off. He wondered if he should look for another village or for the two earthlings.

Vegeta was sure that he had recognised the two energies when he had landed on planet Namek. One of them was Kakarot's son. His energy level had risen a little. Not surprising, because after all, Saiyan blood flowed in him and after the fight on Earth, the young man had been badly injured. Every Saiyan gained strength when he was so close to death. He shook his head. It was a pity that such potential was wasted on a warrior of lesser rank.

Before he had decided which track to pursue further, he sensed a strange aura. Only seconds later, Zarbon floated in front of him.

Zarbon, the light green beau. Vegeta looked him up and down. He had not changed since he had last seen him. His long dark green hair was braided into a pigtail and lay over his right shoulder. He still wore no pants, only long gauntlets, which Vegeta had always found ridiculous.

"Zarbon, how nice to see you," Vegeta said with an ironic undertone.

"I can't return the pleasure," the latter replied. "Frieza knows you're here looking for the Dragonballs. I will prevent that, however." Zarbon was ready to attack.

Vegeta clicked his tongue dismissively. "Not so fast. I am much stronger by now. Your friend Dodoria has already felt my power."

"Dodoria was weak, unlike me."

Without another word, Vegeta charged at Zarbon and rammed his right fist into the pit of Zarbon's stomach. Caught off guard by the attack, Zarbon doubled over in pain and sank to the ground. Vegeta followed him and stood up in front of him.

"By the way, Dodoria told me something interesting before he passed away. Frieza destroyed my home planet, not a comet. Because Frieza feared the strength of the Saiyans. But I am still alive and now I will have my revenge."

Zarbon laughed mirthlessly. "You idiot. Several Saiyans would have been dangerous to Frieza but you alone don't stand a chance against him."

Vegeta tried not to let on how much that statement threw him off.

"Now I have another surprise for you." Zarbon straightened to his full height. He tensed all his muscles and roared. The muscles on his arms and legs grew thicker, more plump. His face changed. It became rounder. His eyes grew larger. His mouth curved forward and stood slightly open. It showed a row of pointed teeth. There stood no longer Zarbon the Handsome, but Zarbon the Lizard Monster.

Disgusted, Vegeta looked at the transformed soldier. Zarbon's fighting power had increased significantly with the transformation. Vegeta cursed inwardly.

"Let's see how strong you are now." Zarbon's voice had also changed. It was deeper now, with slightly hissing sounds, which was probably due to the narrow forked tongue that kept darting out of his mouth.

Zarbon attacked Vegeta. He blocked the kicks and punches as best he could, but he quickly realised that the lizardman now had the upper hand. Feverishly Vegeta, while dodging an energy ball from Zarbon, thought of how to escape the situation, but suddenly Zarbon was on top of him, slamming his fisted hands down on Vegeta's head, sending Vegeta hurtling towards the ground. Before he got there, Zar-bon was already under him and kicked him in the stomach, catapulting Vegeta back up.

Zarbon didn't allow the Saiyan prince a chance to catch his breath and followed up with more punches. Vegeta could feel himself weakening. He could not get out of the tunnel of attacks. Another blow hit him so hard in the head that he could no longer see properly. He crashed to the earth and landed in one of the many lakes. Was this now the end?

Air! He needed air! Disoriented, he rowed his arms. Where was he? Where was the surface? He fought his breathing reflex. If he gave in now, he would be lost.

He looked up. Or what he thought was up. Was it brighter there? He moved his legs as best he could, helped with his arms. Was the brightness getting closer? A little further. He mobilised the last of his strength.

Then his head broke through the surface of the water.

Air.

Breathe in.

Breathe in deeper.

At the same time he tried to reach the shore. Helplessly, he rowed around in the water. His vision was limited. He could not see the shore. He could not go under again now.

Then something or someone grabbed him by the collar of his breastplate. He tried to turn his head, but all he could make out were dark blue gauntlets. Zarbon. Damn it!

"Frieza wants you alive, little prince," Zarbon purred above him. He held Vegeta as tightly as he could, cutting off his air. Zarbon's voice sounded normal again. Apparently he had changed back.

Vegeta only noticed in passing that they flew over the planet for a while. At some point Zarbon landed and dropped Vegeta ungently to the ground. Tiled ground. Were they in Frieza's spaceship?

He heard Zarbon speak, but did not understand his words. Then he noticed several hands lifting him up and putting him in a medi-chamber. An oxygen mask was placed on him, the chamber was closed and filled with the healing liquid.

Vegeta relaxed and gave himself over to the healing sleep. These soldiers were so terribly stupid. When he was fully recovered in a few hours, he would take his revenge on Zarbon.

Today I have published a somewhat longer chapter. Christmas is just around the corner and I will enjoy the next few days with my family. I wish you a wonderful Christmas, a reflective time and all the best for the coming year.

If you like the story so far, I would be happy to receive a comment.

See you soon, stay healthy!

Yours, Jessica