"How are you doing Dad?" says Gohan.
"Better. Dende's healing is definitely working." Goku looks at the sleeping Namekian child. "I just wish we didn't have to put such a strain on the little guy. We're all still pretty beat up."
"Here let me try something."
Gohan concentrates and a sky blue aura glows from his hands.
"Woah," says Goku." I've never sensed ki like that before."
"Yeah. I've been studying Bulma's research. It show all kinds of applications for it. I've been trying to mimic Dende's healing ability, but no luck. Now this is going to be cold."
Goku hisses as Gohan grabs his upper arm with both hands. A sharp cold penetrates his muscles. After a moment it feels soothing as it combats the inflammation caused by the strain of the Kaioken.
"Thanks Gohan. The pain is way better."
"Yeah, I can't heal you, but I can definitely relax the muscles and ease the pain."
"How did you figure that out?"
"Mom was showing me some of her techniques to manipulate ki. I tried using those in conjunction with Bulma's notes."
"That's incredible. I'm really impressed. I've never been good at that kind of thing."
Gohan smiles and moves over to Goku's other arm.
###
Krillin stares with angry slits at Raditz.
"You're supposed to be watching for enemies, not me," says Raditz.
"As far I'm concerned, you're still enemy number one," says Krillin. "I'm not going to let you out of my sight so you can catch us off guard. You're the reason we're even in this mess!"
"Look, I'm a traitor now. Freeza won't stand for that. I'm to be killed on sight. I've got nothing to gain from hurting you guys."
"Well maybe you should have quit before you killed Yamcha. I think you'll try to jump sides at the first opportunity to betray us. And just know that if you do, I'll cut you down without hesitation. I'm only letting you get by because Goku wants you too."
Raditz flattens his lips and looks away.
###
"Why did you save me?" says Vegeta.
Bulma looks over to him as he awakens from his battle.
"Don't think too much about it," she says. "I didn't do it for you. We just have a common enemy. And you're no good to me dead."
"Heh, I see," he says, propping himself on one elbow.
He surveys the small ravine with high walls they hide in. Bulma grabs something and moves to his side.
"Now hold still, this might sting," says Bulma. She holds a canister with a spray cap on it.
"What's that?"
"We found a healing gel inside the ships you guys left behind and repurposed it into a medical spray. Here goes."
Bulma presses the cap and cool, blue mist sprays out of it. Vegeta grimaces but goes still as the tonic soothes the open wounds a bit.
"You must be pretty smart to use all our technology like that."
"That's an understatement."
Vegeta chuckles, then yelps. A big spark shoots out of his robot eye.
"Uh! This stupid thing!"
"Want me to try and fix it?"
"Just make it stop."
"Lie down and don't blink."
Bulma pokes and prods at the eye with two thin instruments.
"Nope, no good. I'd have to remove it to get anywhere."
"So you're a doctor now?"
"Not really. I didn't say anything about putting it back in. Chances are I wouldn't be able to reattach it. You willing to risk that?"
"Yeah, it's useless anyway. Take it out."
"Okay, here we go."
Bulma works carefully and winces twice when she thinks she knicks a sensitive spot of Vegeta's socket. Her heart jumps both times in fear of upsetting him, but he shows no signs of feeling pain.
She pops the eye free and disconnects it from the optic nerve. She sprays it with a disinfectant cleaner. Her hand rummages in a medical case and throws a packaged bandage to Vegeta.
"Cover up with that," she says, "to keep debris out of it."
She uses a Capsule that reveals a small work table. Kneeling at it, she starts fixing the eye with a microscope and fine tools.
Vegeta leans against a wall of the ravine and watches her.
"I see it has integrated scouter technology," says Bulma.
"How could you possibly tell that?"
"I've become very familiar with it at this point."
Vegeta grunts and continues to watch. His impatience grows as his injuries gnaw at him, reminding him of his defeat.
"Tell me about Kakarot's battles and training?"
"I don't know any Kakarots."
"Don't play games with me. You know who I mean. Tell me how he increases his power so quickly. We're up against the strongest in the universe. If we're to stand a chance, I must have access to his secrets."
"I already told you everything he went through. What else is there to know?"
"There must be a hidden truth in his life somewhere. Tell me everything you can remember from the beginning."
Bulma shrugs and figures it is as good a way as any to pass the time. She begins with when she first met Goku and tries to recall everything about their adventures.
At some point during her recollection, she finishes the eye. She wraps up the story a little later with where they are now.
"And that's everything I can think of. So I got this eye done. Do you want it back in or no?"
"I suppose so. I'll need it to find out if anyone is approaching us."
He lays down on his back and continues talking.
"My power should be low enough to avoid detection for now, but it will grow as I recover."
Bulma hovers over him with the eye. She disinfects it again and works on reattaching the nerve.
"One thing definitely stood out to me about Kakarot this time. His greatest developments always seemed to happen when he was aware of a looming threat.
"And that makes sense. A Saiyan's body development slows during times of peace so that it can live longer to find the next battle. But when that moment finally arrives, a Saiyan's body sends a signal to develop rapidly to meet the challenge."
"Hmm," says Bulma, paying more attention to the eye than Vegeta's words. "Are you saying that's why Goku stayed mostly childlike until meeting King Piccolo? Because when he knew Junior would be waiting for him at the next tournament, he would need a more developed body to handle the fight."
"Precisely. And that's why once again he plateaued until he heard about my impending arrival."
"I don't know. It just sounds like he works harder when he knows he has to. Though great amounts of stress do affect the body in some odd ways."
"Regardless, I have my answer. I must prepare my mind for challenging Freeza. And then my body will adapt to do the same. And with my elite blood, I will finally claim the title of Super Saiyan!"
Bulma gives him a skeptical look as she finishes up the minor surgery.
"How's that? Does it work?"
The robot eye blinks on and swivels.
"Yes. Good as new."
Bulma takes pride in the almost compliment.
###
Zarbon kneels before Freeza who sips red wine from a goblet. He tries to bury his face in the braid of his hair hanging over his shoulder.
"Am I to believe Dodoria was killed by such insolent riffraff?" says Freeza.
A dangerous tone lurks in the words. A tone Zarbon knows does not bode well for those who hear it.
"That's what my scouts reported, my lord," he says.
Zarbon glances at the six Dragon Balls, hoping their presence will please the emperor. Freeza takes no notice of them as his tail slaps the side of his hovering throne pod with a ringing clap.
"That fool's bloodlust must have gotten the best of him. He could have brought me any of those foul creatures and they probably would have known the secrets I might need. And I can't even get the satisfaction of punishing him myself."
"Please sire, I still have the radar. Allow me to get the final Dragon Ball, and if we need a Namekian, I'll hunt them down for you."
Freeza seems to not hear him.
"And then there's Vegeta. He dare betray me after I practically raised him like a son. And I can't kill him either because you left him at the bottom of the ocean!"
Zarbon tenses and lowers his head further. From the tops of his eyes, he sees Freeza raise a hand and extend one finger. Zarbon gulps as the tip aligns with his head.
Freeza lifts the finger to his cheek and scratches it. Zarbon lets out his stress in a sigh.
"Quit your groveling and get me that last Dragon Ball."
"Yes Lord Freeza. Appule, round up my squad and meet me outside."
###
Bulma bustles about getting things ready.
"Why are you scuttling around like that?" says Vegeta.
"I'm packing up to retrieve the last Dragon Ball."
"Oh, yeah, and how are you going to find it without the radar?"
"I checked it's location before I left and marked it down," she says, still packing up a bag. She holds out a computerized device. "I plugged in the coordinates for a projected path from where I am, so I should be able to get close. This has been tracking my movements since I escaped."
"And what are you going to do when Zarbon shows up looking for it and finds you there?"
Bulma winks. "Actually I made a slight alteration to the radar before I left it for him to find. It should give him some false readings."
A wry smile creeps onto Vegeta's face. "Heh, clever. When do we leave?"
"You sure you want to come with? Looks like you've got some resting up to do."
"I'll be fine. I may be injured, but I'm not an invalid."
"Suit yourself," says Bulma, shrugging.
She pops open two Capsules revealing hovering mopeds.
"Hop on. They're easy to operate. Steering, acceleration, and brakes. That's about it."
She points to each one as Vegeta situates himself on the vehicle. She gets on hers and takes off. "Follow me."
Vegeta moves in behind her as they ride towards the Dragon Ball.
###
Zarbon screams in frustration.
"Why won't this stupid thing fixate on the location! Every time we get close, it reloads the area, and the location changes!"
Appule backs away as Zarbon stomps a foot and punches the air. The other two grunts quit their search to await orders.
"We've wasted enough time! I want all of you to go search for that woman. She must have messed with it. I'll keep looking for the Dragon Ball, but bring her to me!"
"But sir," says Appule, "she barely had a power level. There could be hundreds of power levels just like hers all over the place."
"Then you better investigate every single one until you find her. Unless you want to answer to Lord Freeza for failure."
Appule's face loses some of its color. "Understood sir. We'll find her right away. Nabana. Namole. Move out!"
They nod their heads and take flight.
###
Vegeta looks to the sky from the island he and Bulma search.
"I guess they must have figured out your trick because someone's coming this way," he says.
"Well keep looking. The Dragon Ball is around here somewhere."
Bulma spies a gleam of orange from a patch of grass. She hurries to it and drops to her knees. Her fingers shovel away the soil as she digs up the embedded ball.
"I found it!"
"Great, but we've got company."
A fellow member of Appule's people named Nabana lowers from the sky with his arms crossed. His teal skin is speckled with dark green splotches. He hovers above the two of them while pressing the button on his scouter.
"Well, well," he says. "Look what I found. A Dragon Ball. And Vegeta, back from Hell already? You must be truly vile for it to spit you out."
Vegeta grits his teeth. He knows he has not recovered enough to fight, and Nabana's squadmates are sure to be on their way.
Bulma takes aim with her blaster and fires. Nabana swoops aside with ease and laughs. "You're a feisty one, but I'm too fast for something like that."
Bulma pulls out a scouter of her own and attaches it to her ear. She twists a dial on the blaster. Two more muzzles release to join the first. They form a triangular shape.
Bulma points the weapon again. The scouter locks onto Nabana power level, and the muzzles make fine adjustments on a swivel base. She presses the trigger once more.
Rapid fire blasts break loose. The increased rate of fire catches Nabana by surprise. He drifts in every direction to stay ahead of the assault. Bulma's scouter tracks his every move and relays the information to the gun. It swivels and pivots to adjust its aim.
The metal heats up with the effort. The cylinders change to a dark red and brighten to an orange. The air around them turns to steam.
A shot finally hits Nabana in the shoulder. The blast causes a slight lapse in his movement speed allowing more gunfire to overtake him. His whole body rattles as the pelting continues.
The blaster shuts off when it reaches an unsafe temperature. Nabana floats in the sky as smoke rises from his wounds. He croaks and falls to the ground. He slams with no attempt to slow himself and does not move.
Vegeta stares at the body. His gaze shifts to Bulma who looks just as surprised.
"You did it," he says. "You actually took him out."
Bulma laughs. "You're damn right I did."
"Hurry and get the Dragon Ball. I have a feeling Zarbon will be here very soon. And your blaster won't work against him."
Bulma hurries to finish unearthing the Dragon Ball.
Vegeta jogs to the body and checks it over. He pulls a plastic container from Nabana's waist and opens it.
"Some standard stim packs and healing gel. Might be enough to get me by Appule but not Zarbon. Damn. It'll have to do. And Appule and one more are practically here."
He prepares two syringes. He jabs one in his left bicep. Before he can feel the effects, he jabs his other bicep. The sudden infusion of adrenaline bursts in his veins. His muscles seize as they absorb the enhancers.
He rips open two packets of gel and applies them to his most grievous injuries. The gel soaks into his bruised skin and tends to the damaged tissues below.
Two figures fly over the horizon. Appule and a humanoid with yellow hair named Namole race towards their island.
Vegeta pushes out all the strength the stim packs injected him with. A violent aura breaks around him as he flies off to meet his challengers.
Appule grins at the reading on his scouter. The same number scares Namole into slowing down.
"Don't be a coward," says Appule. "His power level is only 5,800. That's less than mine. With two of us, it'll be—"
Namole explodes as a black and red cloud of smoke expands from where his body once was. Appule throws his vision from the destruction to his target and halts his flight. Vegeta grins with two fingers pointed at where Namole used to be.
"I hope you weren't counting on your friend to help," says Vegeta. "He did make for some entertaining fireworks though." Vegeta laughs.
"You fool," says Appule. "You have nothing to laugh about. Zarbon's on his way, and I'm stronger than you. So why don't you just hand over that Dragon Ball. Before you get killed."
"No, I don't think I will. Trying to bargain tells me you're afraid to fight me. But as a Saiyan, I'm always looking for battle."
Vegeta lunges. Appule's screams in terror and lets loose a barrage of ki blasts. Vegeta's swift movements avoid each one and close the distance. His hands grab Appule's ankles. He backflips and launches his foe at the ground.
"Let me show you how it's done!" says Vegeta.
Vegeta fires his own flurry of bolts. Most of them hit Appule and propel him faster to the earth. He smacks hard as more shots pin him down.
Vegeta heaves for air. Aches and exhaustion consume his body from the high speed movement and attack. He grits his teeth as Appule rises to his feet. His spotted, cylinder shaped head shakes away some dust before setting its sights on Vegeta.
"What's wrong Vegeta?" he says. "You look a little tired. You had me worried there for a second, but it looks like the battle with Zarbon did more damage than you were letting on. You aren't even doing that cocky laughter."
Appule takes flight to rush Vegeta. They break into an exchange of strikes and blocks. Vegeta's injuries suffocate his stamina. Appule gets in a hard blow to the side of Vegeta's head. He raises both hands and hammers the bottoms of his fists into the back of Vegeta's neck.
Vegeta drops fast to the ground. He expels some ki to slow himself and lands on his belly with a thud. He looks over his shoulder to find Appule following fast with a kick ready.
Vegeta drags his fingers through the dirt as he gets his arms under himself. His fists clench the loose soil as he pushes off at a sideways angle. Appule crushes the spot he was just in as he flies upward.
Vegeta steepens the degree of his ascent as Appule chases his heels.
"You're history, Vegeta!" says Appule.
Vegeta twists around and opens his hands. The dirt and sand concealed within disperses a cloud of debris.
Appule recoils as it enters his eyes. He digs at his sockets to wipe the dust clear. When his vision returns enough to see, he discovers Vegeta right in his face. Before he can react, a fist punches a hole in his armor and lodges deep in his abdomen. He coughs as the pain paralyzes him.
"Wait, Vegeta," he says. "I can help you. You can't beat Zarbon alone. Let me team up with you."
Vegeta smirks. "I love it when they beg."
Vegeta pumps a burst of ki to his hand which explodes out of Appule's back. The force pushes the corpse off of his wrist. Vegeta watches it fall to the ocean below.
"Three down," he says. "One to go."
He looks in the direction his robotic eye tells him Zarbon approaches from.