"You snuck aboard?!"
Two hours after they had left the Sol system, Yamcha had gone into one of the rooms within the ship, which Bulma had converted into a makeshift "cargo hold" for storing their capsules and various other necessities. After opening a microwave capsule and heating up some food, he heard the low sound of a stomach growling within the room. It didn't take long to deduce that it wasn't his own stomach, or to ultimately find Gohan hiding in an empty storage crate. Now, Gohan stood sheepishly before Bulma, Krillin, and Yamcha, the latter two looking as stern as they could while Bulma was both shocked and angry.
"Y-yeah..." he replied, looking away slightly. "I'm sorry, Miss Bulma. I just...wanted to help. Just like Master Roshi and Mr. Yamcha helped me."
Bulma looked down at him angrily before sighing. "I understand. Tell you the truth, I was hoping that you'd want to come with us, after hearing how strong you'd gotten. But the fact remains, your mom didn't want you to go, and you shouldn't have gone behind her back like this! I expect you to apologize to her when you get back!"
"Of course, Miss Bulma," Gohan replied.
"So, are we gonna turn around and drop him off?" Yamcha asked.
"I'm going to interpret that as you choosing to volunteer to greet Chi Chi when we land," Krillin replied sardonically.
Bulma mulled over this for a moment. "...Do you really believe Vegeta's alive, Krillin?"
Krillin considered this. "The evidence does seem to point to him at least surviving long enough to leave, probably to get medical treatment somewhere."
"And if they've got spaceships that can travel to distant worlds, I'm willing to bet their medical tech is probably better than ours too," Yamcha added.
"So for all we know, Vegeta could be up and about in days even after the beating he got, and from what my dad tells me, those Saiyan ships are six times faster than ours," Bulma finished. "That means we're up against the clock, and we likely can't afford losing half a day bringing him home."
Gohan couldn't help but brighten up slightly. "Y-you mean-?"
"Yeah, yeah, you can stay," Bulma replied. "But! Understand that while you're here, you have to listen to us, okay?"
"Understood!" Gohan replied readily, his face beaming at the prospect of being able to help. Bulma couldn't help but smile slightly along with the others, before a darker thought entered their heads all at the same time. Krillin gathered his breath before speaking up.
"...Not being the one to talk to Chi Chi, 1-2-3, not it!"
"Not it!"
"Not it-ah...damn it." Bulma groaned.
Day 2
After several hours of Krillin and Yamcha instructing Gohan in the discipline of mental training, the three had finally begun a productive training session when they were interrupted by Bulma stumbling into the room from her quarters, evidently too tired to have cared about changing out of her clothes from the night before. As she collapsed onto a couch they had set up nearby, Krillin finally opened his eyes and addressed the cause of her lack of sleep.
"So...how'd the video call-?"
"I. Hate. All of you," Bulma replied somewhat groggily. "Oh, God, I thought Launch in her Bad form was too much to deal with..."
Krillin simply chuckled. "I take it you were eventually able to reach an agreement?"
"Ironically enough, I have Goku to thank for that. If he hadn't chimed in from his hospital bed, she might not have stopped."
"Still, all's well that ends well, right?"
"I'm half convinced she's going to murder me in my sleep when we get back."
Yamcha chuckled. "Well, if she does, she'll have to go through me, babe." He walked over and planted a small kiss on her forehead.
"Nooo. I'm mad at you," Bulma said, lazily attempting to wave him away to his amusement.
"Alright, fair enough."
Krillin chuckled himself. "So, Bulma, you've got two months left to live. What are you going to do?"
"Dunno. Lemme get...back to...you..." she began before her lack of sleep caught up with her, and she drifted off. Yamcha smiled before slowly reaching down and picking her up, using his prosthetic to bear most of the weight as he carried her back to her room.
Day 6
"RRAAAGGH!"
The rock face immediately in front of Piccolo exploded instantly under the force of his kiai, a testament to how his power had slightly increased in the days following the Saiyan attack. Satisfied with the completion of his morning training exercise, Piccolo then began to float in the air as he prepared to meditate. However, his efforts were foiled more than once as various thoughts intruded into his mind.
His father laughing maniacally as he felt his consciousness beaten back into the furthest corners of his mind.
He grumbled slightly before continuing.
Kami's voice having grown far more hoarse since he had last spoken to him.
He scrunched his eyes in slightly in order to keep them closed.
The look in Gohan's eyes when he fired that ki blast-
He opened his eyes, his efforts momentarily arrested as his thoughts returned to the subject of Kami's proposal. After being stuck on the question for several minutes, he growled slightly to himself, and resumed his efforts at meditation more readily than before.
"This sentiment...I must not let it cloud my judgement!" he thought to himself, and yet still he could not completely shake away the thoughts that were entering his mind. He nevertheless resigned himself to the task of focusing on his meditation anyway, hoping that he may manage it within a reasonable time frame after all.
Day 10
Dr. Briefs sat calmly in the viewing room of Capsule Corp's Lab Delta, watching as the latest model of equipment for his most recent creation was brought into the lab for testing. When his daughter had come to him with the idea of modifying the artificial gravity generator to exceed Earth's level of gravity, he had to question the practicality of installing such a device. Nevertheless, he couldn't deny being intrigued by the possibility, and thus had spent the last two weeks modifying the generator and designing the equipment to withstand such intense gravitational forces.
"Alright, fire it up!" he announced over a microphone to lab workers operating in another room. They promptly switched on the artificial gravity generator they had installed and kicked it up to one hundred times Earth gravity. Dr. Briefs watched for a few tentative moments as some slight creaking became audible, before the noise subsided and the equipment remained stable.
"Confirmed," one of the lab workers announced. "Gravitational stress levels within acceptable range."
Dr. Briefs sighed in relief. "Alright, Lucas. Have your team make some slight adjustments to the instruments before sunset. I want us to begin installing this into the training room tomorrow morning."
"Copy that, sir." With that, the crew began to pack everything up, leaving Dr. Briefs time to retire to his personal living quarters within the facility, where his wife stood waiting with a glass of lemonade and sandwiches. He sat down in a nearby chair and was reminded of the journey his daughter was undergoing. He sighed audibly, his concern evident.
"Stay safe out there. Please," he whispered to himself before turning on the television, hoping to turn his thoughts towards other channels.
"What exactly are we looking at?"
Yamcha, Gohan, and Krillin hovered over Bulma as she stared at the navigational monitor, trying to make sense of the readings she was getting. The three looked up out the window, confirming that the two images presented were in fact identical.
"It looks like...a planet. One which matches the computer's description of Namek in every sense. "
"Huh. But, weren't we supposed to get there in another 24 days?" Gohan asked.
"We were! It doesn't make any sense!"
"What does the computer say it is?" Yamcha asked.
"Hm...computer: identify planetary body in this system, bearing 351 mark 247."
The computer whirred and beeped intermittently as it processed the coordinates.
"Confirmed: planetary body identified as Planet AF159," it said as it displayed the image of a rocky, foreboding planet, quite dissimilar from the serene planet they could see out their window.
"Properties?"
"Atmosphere: 25% oxygen, 75% nitrogen. Surface temperature: 10 degrees Celsius. Rudimentary data confirms presence of life-no indication that said life is intelligent. Warning: Upper atmosphere experiences extreme turbulence-atmospheric entry not recommended."
"Run a comparison between this planet and recorded data concerning the planet Namek."
"...Analysis complete: the two planets are 38% similar."
Bulma looked at the monitor quizzically for a second, while Yamcha eventually shrugged. "Welp. Looks like this isn't Namek."
"And like somewhere we don't want to be," Krillin chimed in.
Bulma sighed. "Agreed. Computer: take us back on our original heading, and...run a full diagnostic of the life support systems while you're at it."
"Confirmed," the computer replied as it began its work, readjusting the ship's heading and returning them to their original course.
Day 24
Kami sat down on the tiled floor of the Lookout, his eyes closed as he reached out towards the world with his senses, feeling the energy of everything which called the planet Earth its home. He could easily sense the energy of Dr. Briefs as his work on the ship continued; Goku as he was left resting, impatiently waiting for Korin to finish growing a new batch of Senzu beans; even the energy of Launch sitting at Tien Shinhan's side was difficult for him to miss as he sat atop his Lookout. And, of course, he sensed the approach of a ki signature towards his own location, one all too familiar to him.
"Piccolo," he said simply, not turning around as the Namekian landed a few feet behind him. "I assume you have made your decision?"
"...Yes. I believe I have," Piccolo replied with an uncharacteristic hesitation.
"And?"
Piccolo paused as he considered what he was about to say next. He took a deep breath before he began.
"I've devoted quite a lot of time towards this question, alongside an even stricter training regimen. At first...I wasn't quite sure what to think about your proposal. The idea of your mind becoming a part of my own seemed at first to be not all that dissimilar from my previous situation with my father. The risk of my personality being lost or else intermixed with yours was, frankly, unpalatable. And I was rather incensed at the prospect of having to, in a sense, rely on another's power to grow stronger. But...the longer I thought about it, the more I realized...none of that really mattered in the end."
Kami raised an eyebrow as Piccolo went on. "Without a doubt, this situation would wound my honor as a warrior, to have to rely on another for survival and the strength required to surpass my rival and enemies. There are, of course, definite risks to the situation, and yet...I've come to realize that not taking that risk would wound my honor even more. To not be awarded the opportunity to die in battle-indeed, not even to die after living a long and fulfilled life-would be, to my mind, the ultimate disgrace. To die solely because another life must expire, depriving you of the chance to live your own...I can imagine no worse fate for either a warrior or a man. And that is what would occur should I allow things to proceed as they are." He took a long breath before concluding, "I...want to live. I want to be able to grow stronger, strong enough to surpass Son Goku, Vegeta, and everyone else. I want to explore what life as my own entity, free of my father's influence, truly means. Thus, even in light of the unknown variables involved...I believe I am left with no other option than to agree."
Kami nodded. "I see. Well, then-"
"But first," Piccolo interrupted, "I have one condition."
"...Proceed."
"I do not wish to be held responsible for taking up your mantle or choosing a successor. Once you have fused with me, my connection to this place, this position, is to be considered dissolved. You can leave any matters concerning it to your servant."
Kami sighed before nodding. "Very well. Now then...are you certain of your choice?"
Piccolo considered the question for a moment before nodding.
"I understand." Kami got up and turned to face Piccolo.
"Is there anything you wish to say to your servant, or any of Earth's warriors still here?" Piccolo asked the aging Namekian.
"I already relayed my goodbyes through Yajirobe. And...me and Mr. Popo discussed the matter last night," Kami replied. "He was...less than pleased, but respectful of my wishes. I hope that you will show him some kindness should you change your mind about becoming Earth's Guardian."
"Believe me, I won't. I have no intention of becoming like you."
Kami smirked slightly. "If you say so. Now, then, I've taken the liberty of some slight introspection over the last month. I believe I am aware of how the process was intended to work." Kami walked over to Piccolo's position, standing a mere three feet away from him. "You must place your hand upon me. I shall initiate the process."
Piccolo held out his hand, hesitating for a second before placing his palm firmly onto Kami's chest.
"One thing: the process may be a bit...disorienting, but try to remain calm," Kami cautioned.
"I understand."
Kami remained silent for a while before chuckling. Piccolo raised his eyebrow in confusion, causing him to chuckle further.
"Oh, nothing. I was just thinking of a human expression I've always liked," Kami replied before sighing somewhat morosely. "Over 300 years dedicated towards this planet and every living thing who calls it home. Even in light of the disasters my own existence has levied upon it...the invasions I was left powerless to prevent...I suppose some could say I had a 'good run' after all, wouldn't you agree?" Kami chuckled again before looking Piccolo in the eyes. "I can only hope that, in some way, no matter how small...this will allow me to be of use once again."
With that, Kami closed his eyes with a slight smile, before he became enveloped in a light blue aura of energy. Piccolo's arm tensed slightly as it made contact with this aura, but he stood his ground. With several gasps of exertion, Kami's body gradually faded away, the blue aura traveling up the length of Piccolo's arm before enveloping him in turn, casting the entire Lookout in a great plume of blue light.
After a few moments, the light dissipated, and Piccolo alone was left standing there, his mind swimming as a whole host of memories and knowledge he had never known tried to integrate itself with his own mind. After another few minutes of adjusting to this flow of information, Piccolo glanced down at this hands, already sensing the awesome power which his new form was now capable of.
"Unreal..." Piccolo muttered before his excitement started to build. "This...this is amazing! I feel incredible!"
His body suddenly sprang into action as he basked in its new power. "Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes! I can win! I feel great! I! Can! Do! This! HAH-!"
"What are you doing?"
Piccolo gasped in astonishment, nearly falling over in his shock. "Aha-ah! Uh...n-nothing!"
"Are you sure? You seemed to be...chanting to yourself. Rather enthusiastically, I might add."
"Are you...in my mind?"
"It would appear so. I have no idea whether this is temporary or not, but I can tell you one thing-I suspect that I possess no influence over your mind and actions whatsoever beyond my own words. So, for however long my consciousness may exist here, I will simply immerse myself into the role of advisor."
"So, in other words, you'll be able to lecture me for however long you're not absorbed by my subconscious?" Piccolo remarked dryly.
"Oh, come now. Surely I'm not that irritating?"
"Hm...no. No, you most definitely are."
Kami's familiar chuckle reverberated through his head. "Well, hopefully you'll find me to be of some use."
"Hmph." Piccolo crossed his arms as he looked down at the world below.
"So...if you don't mind my asking, what are you going to do first?"
Piccolo mulled over this before a slight smirk came over his features.
"...I think I'll be going to our homeworld, after all."
Day 27
Frieza Planet 79 was far from the most remarkable planet within Frieza's empire, but as a major outpost positioned so close to a relatively unexplored and mysterious sector of the galaxy, its usefulness was plain to see. The hundreds of soldiers and support staff stationed within the central compound of the planet had one job: to attend to the needs of high ranking members of the Frieza Forces as they extended their great leader's influence throughout the cosmos. Thus, it was somewhat ironic that their present mission-one they had been alerted to over a month in advance-would, in a sense, be the exact opposite of that job description, yet still in the service of their primary directive. A team of scouts had been monitoring the planetary sensor grid day and night ever since they received their orders, and at long last, during the early hours of the planet's morning, they finally detected their target.
"Lord Cui!" a short, green alien cried out, running frantically into the quarters of the station's impromptu commander this past month. The "lord" in question-a tall purple alien with heavyset lips and facial features resembling a fish-carefully set down a mug of a teal liquid.
"Yes, officer?" Cui replied.
"He's here!" the low-ranking soldier replied, causing Cui's eyes to widen and a large grin to play across his features. The soldier didn't have to clarify who he meant.
"Bring him in immediately. If he's dead, send him back into space. If he can be saved, stabilize him. If he can't be saved," he paused as his smile grew wider, "Notify me. I want to finish him off myself."
"Yes, Lord Cui!" the alien said before racing off to carry out his orders. Satisfied beyond words, the high-ranking officer turned around and returned to his drink, before his door hissed open yet again to admit two other aliens.
"Private Chila sure seemed like he was in a hurry," the one on the left remarked.
"Indeed. Tell us, Cui-has our target arrived?"
Cui set down his drink with a sigh. "You are correct. It seems our monkey friend has returned to the fold...in a manner of speaking."
"Excellent!" The one on the right remarked. "We have been anxious to test our power against him."
"I still do not quite understand why your assistance was deemed crucial," Cui replied, his irritation evident. "I'm quite capable of handling one stubborn little monkey."
"Lord Frieza seems to disagree with that assessment," the left one answered smugly.
"Are you saying you do not agree with our great leader?" the right one queried.
Cui grimaced slightly.
"Perhaps a demonstration is in order, dear brother?" the right one posited.
"My thoughts exactly, brother."
Cui looked at the two of them with a mixture of contempt and interest. "Ah, yes. Their miraculous ability. Well, I'm sure that its power still pales in comparison to-"
"MERGE!" the two cried out in unison, before being consumed by a red and white light. Cui instinctively shut his eyes as the process continued. After a moment, the merging was complete, and Cui opened up his eyes to see a significantly larger alien standing before him. Rather than the red and blue coloration of the two aliens, this new alien had dark purple skin, along with a significantly more bulky physique and spiky protrusions throughout his chin and limbs. Cui gulped slightly, but swiftly regained his composure as he activated his scouter.
"You may appear fearsome, but I doubt that the power afforded by this form is so much greater than-" he began before pausing in shock as his scouter beeped, indicating that it had gathered enough data to generate a reading. After staring at the numbers in disbelief for a few seconds, the fusion taunted him.
"Well, commander? What does it say?"
"T-twenty six...thousand," he replied, his breathing shaky.
"Huh. That's funny-could've sworn it was less," the fusion remarked with a smirk before a quick burst of light reversed the process.
"In any event, we hope that this clarifies things for you," the red alien began. "Now, then, if you have no further comments, we shall leave you to deal with your new prisoner."
"Will you join me for a drink in the mess hall, Kado?" the blue alien asked.
"Certainly, Abo."
With that, the door hissed open before closing again, leaving Cui alone with nothing but his thoughts to occupy him. After a few seconds of horrified silence, he clenched his fist in anger at his cowardice, and marched through the door with determination in his eyes.
"I don't care how strong those idiots' parlor trick is-I will be the one to kill Vegeta after all these years! You hear me?! Me!"
Day 28
Vegeta dozed slightly as the sedative he had been administered upon regaining consciousness wore off. However, the loud hiss of a door opening and light entering the dark cell in which he had been placed caused him to open his eyes before screwing them shut as a result of the glare.
"Well, well, well," he heard a somewhat nasally voice drone on. "It's been a while, huh, 'friend?'"
"Indeed it has, Cui," Vegeta replied once the door closed. "Tell me: still stuck on backwater assignments?"
"Hm. I suppose you could say that. Pest control is a rather dull assignment compared to conquering rival interstellar empires."
"I take it from the fact that I'm being held here rather than heading out to the nearest docking bay while being forced to listen to your two-bit insults means that Frieza monitored our scouters."
"Exactly right," Cui replied. "And if you guessed that, then you must also know just what our master heard, and where he's been heading for the last month or so."
"So it would seem. And I'm assuming the only reason I'm still alive is that you need me to tell you everything I know about these 'Dragon Balls.'"
"Right again. So, since you know full well how powerful I am, surely you must know that resistance is futile. You will tell us everything we wish to know, or you will suffer unspeakable pain."
Vegeta chuckled sardonically. "Trust me, fish-lips. After what I endured on Earth, nothing at your disposal will be able to break me. But, if you'd like to speed things along, I'm more than happy to cooperate."
Cui blinked a few times before looking at Vegeta quizzically. "C-come again?"
"From what I heard while on the planet Earth, Dragon Balls have a specified period after use during which they must recharge-likely tied directly to their host planet's own rotation. Given Namek's rotation, this means that their Dragon Balls would take 113 days to recharge after use. To my knowledge, they can only grant one wish, and they will be deactivated permanently if the Namekian who created them is killed. The legend states that there are seven, however I have not had the chance to confirm this. I do not know their exact appearance other than that they are spherical, hence being referred to as 'balls.' I'm also assuming that they have something to do with some kind of dragon creature, because otherwise, the name comes off as being rather silly."
Cui was left shocked at Vegeta's sudden cooperativeness, so shocked that he didn't hear the beep of his scouter, which he had activated upon entering the room to assess Vegeta's level of power prior to the interrogation. "W-why are you telling me this? Are you trying to deceive me?!"
"Not at all. As I told you, I am more than happy to answer your questions."
"But why?! Surely you must know that we're going to kill you either way, simply for having the audacity to betray Lord Frieza! So why would you wish to cooperate at all?!"
"Really, Cui, it's quite simple, if you'll give me a moment to explain." Cui slowly nodded his head, allowing Vegeta to continue. "Well, to start with, tell me: what do you know about Saiyans?"
"Uh...you turn into apes...you lived on another planet prior to living on Planet Vegeta...your species is naturally capable of bearing ten gees of gravitational force...your species was in the Frieza Force for about...ten years?"
Vegeta chuckled. "I see. Well, allow me to enlighten you on another factoid about the Saiyans. You see, we Saiyans are, above all else, a race of warriors. Our very physiology is adapted for survival in almost any environment. We can resist variations in temperature, hold our breath underwater for up to thirty minutes at a time, and even function in the upper atmosphere of some planets for extended periods. But above all, our race's greatest survival mechanism is...the Zenkai."
Cui cocked his head. "The Zen-what now?"
"The Zenkai is our name for a physiological process which occurs after we recover from a near-fatal injury. Through means which our scientists were still investigating prior to Planet Vegeta's destruction, part of our bodies' natural healing process involves it 'taking stock,' as it were, of what led us to our present state. Our bodies are capable of assessing the specific cause of various injuries, and engaging rapid physiological changes in order for us to stand a better chance of surviving going forward."
Cui, who had begun to grow somewhat tired of the long-winded explanation, finally noticed the small notification on his scouter's readout, and moved to check it while Vegeta continued talking.
"In particular, after surviving a battle against a foe of superior power, our bodies can gauge the level of power based on the extent of the damage...and alter themselves accordingly."
Cui's eyes widened in shock as he read the scouter's earlier reading, causing what Vegeta had just said to appear to reverberate even louder throughout the room. "T-twenty six-?! No! No! The scouter's broken! It has to be!"
"To return to the original question you asked me, well, as I said before, it's really quite simple." Vegeta easily broke apart the restraints holding him up until that point with a kiai, causing Cui to flinch instinctively before thinking to charge a ki blast. "The reason that I'm telling you all of this-"
"DIE!" Cui screamed in desperation, unleashing a ki blast with all of his strength at the prince, atomizing the room and a good portion of the compound in its wake. When the smoke cleared, the Saiyan prince was nowhere to be seen, and Cui smirked for only a moment before he heard a rush of wind from behind him. He started to turn around, only to hear the sickening sound of something penetrating his chest.
"-is because you're not going to live to tell anyone...'friend.'"
Vegeta landed a powerful kick on Cui's back, sending him flying out of the destroyed room and into the sky. Vegeta concentrated his ki into two of his fingers before jerking them upwards, generating a burst of ki all throughout the immediate vicinity of Cui's bleeding body and vaporizing him completely.
The elder of the two brothers, both of whom had fallen into a light sleep once Cui's interrogation began, was the first to awaken to the sound of a massive explosion. He hurriedly jostled the other awake, and Abo and Kado fused immediately and grabbed a scouter as they rushed to assess the cause of the unexpected attack. Even flying as fast as he could within the facility's hallways, by the time Aka had arrived at the source of the scouter's highest power reading, most of the compound had already been obliterated along with everyone inside of it. He looked slightly upwards to see Vegeta grinning sadistically as he fired another ki blast to pick off a handful of survivors. Aka growled slightly, both in anger for defying his master and anticipation for the coming battle. He fired a ki blast at the Saiyan prince, causing him to react at the last second by knocking it away with the back of his hand.
"Hm. Don't know if I've met you or your species before," Vegeta said frankly.
"Name's Aka, of the planet Symbia," the fusion replied, equally frank. "I take it that Cui's dead?"
"Extremely," Vegeta said, his satisfaction evident.
"Hmph. Never liked that toad much anyway," he remarked. "But if you think I'm going to leave a job unfinished, you're mistaken."
"Figured as much," Vegeta said, powering up to the full extent of his power and charging the brutish fusion with a fierce battle cry. He readied a powerful right hook, but found his attack intercepted by a forearm block. The two lifted up further into the air as they exchanged a series of blows, neither one managing to gain the upper hand.
"Damn it! How the hell is this guy as powerful as I am?!" They both thought simultaneously, floating backwards slightly to gain some distance and catch their breath.
"You're not too bad, monkey," Aka said, panting. "You're actually making me try here."
"Tch. Glad to oblige," Vegeta said sardonically.
"But unfortunately, without your tail, you don't have any way to get tougher. So, it all comes down to who can beat the other in a straight fight."
"...So it would seem," Vegeta said with a slight scowl. Aka, meanwhile, sneered and began charging up a series of ki blasts before firing them at the Saiyan. Vegeta dodged most of them with little effort, but was forced to block the last blast with his forearm, causing some of the bones within it to break. He retaliated with his own salvo, but found Aka pushing past most of them before grabbing him and ramming him into one of the few undamaged sections of the compound. As he dragged him along the wall, tearing it up as he went and leaving considerable injuries upon Vegeta, Vegeta slowly charged up a small ki blast before firing it at Aka's left eye. Although it did no damage, it easily destroyed his scouter and left him distracted enough for Vegeta to land a solid punch to his stomach to escape.
However, as soon as he recovered, he went after Vegeta with renewed vigor, propelling himself forward with a ki blast to make up for the difference in innate flight speed. Despite Vegeta's attempts to retaliate, Aka managed to grab him in a bear hug and begin crushing him. Vegeta squirmed as much as he could, managing to headbutt the alien and escape once again after thirty seconds. As Vegeta floated away, bones broken all throughout his body, Aka grinned. It was clear to both sides that, all else being equal, Aka's size gave him a definite advantage in strength. However, Vegeta knew of one advantage he still possessed, although he was loathe to utilize it.
"At this point, my options seem rather limited. Now, let's see if I remember..." He thought as he turned to meet Aka's charge. He drew his hands to his face and tried to imitate the technique as best as he could manage.
"SOLAR FLARE!" he cried out, summoning forth a burst of light which blinded Aka and sent him flying off course. Vegeta capitalized on this, flying to the side and landing a powerful elbow strike to Aka's large neck, sending him crashing towards the ground. Before he could recover, Vegeta began charging up his signature attack.
"GALICK GUN...!" he began just as Aka managed to bring himself back up to his feet. He grimaced before charging up his own attack.
"WAHAHA NO HA!" he cried out, firing out a green energy sphere from his mouth.
"FIRE!" Vegeta cried out only a second later, firing out a massive beam of purple crackling ki. At first, the two techniques were held in a relative stalemate, but as both sides continued to struggle, the Galick Gun slowly but surely gained ground. In desperation, Aka charged up two smaller ki blasts in his hands to add to the beam, but even this proved fruitless as the Galick Gun steadily overpowered the Wahaha no Ha despite his continued efforts. The area gradually became enveloped in residual purple light as the attack finally hit Aka directly, vaporizing the ground beneath him along with most of his uniform.
When the dust settled, Vegeta floated himself with his ki just enough to stop himself from hitting the ground. He shakily got to his feet to examine the condition of his opponent, who in turn struggled to crawl out of the hole he found himself in. Although most of his armor was gone and blood vessels were damaged all throughout his body, he still continued to float forwards. He looked up at Vegeta with a look of pure bloodlust.
"That...all you...got...monkey? I'm still...more than capable...of bringing you dow-!"
Just then, Aka's body convulsed before becoming enveloped in a red and white light. In a matter of seconds, Aka split back into his individual components, Abo and Kado, who found themselves face to face with the wounded, yet now far more powerful, Vegeta sneering over them. Panic soon presented itself across both of their faces, and they hurriedly put their hands together in an act of sheer desperation.
"Merge! Merge! Fuse! Join! Combine! Anything!" The two cried out in unison as Vegeta took one shaky step after another to get closer to them.
"W-wait!" Kado remarked. "W-we can still be useful to you! If you trained us up a bit, imagine how much more powerful Aka could become!"
"We could help you defeat Frieza!" Ado added. "W-we swear on our lives, we shall become your most faithful servants! Just let us live, please!"
Vegeta smirked at their offer before seemingly changing his mind, extending a hand towards Ado. Ado hastily took it and allowed himself to be pulled up to his feet.
"T-thank you, my lord! We promise you, we will not let you-ACK!"
As he spoke, Vegeta let go of his outstretched hand, revealing some slight residual ki around one of his fingers which had fired a finger beam through Abo's chest. With a cry of terror, Kado hastily made his retreat before Vegeta fired off another finger beam, piercing Kado in the back of his head and killing him instantly. With a noticeable grunt of exertion, Vegeta looked down upon his defeated foes with contempt.
"Without that technique of theirs...they were barely even worth killing," he thought to himself with a snort before his thoughts were interrupted by a plasma bolt harmlessly hitting the back of his head. He turned around to look at the source of the disturbance, finding a squadron of Frieza's soldiers who had made their way down to his position. He cleared his throat as he observed their look of utter terror.
"Well! As you can see, your weapons and your own individual power are no match for me even in my wounded state. Thus, you have two options: either serve your master to your last breath and die by my hand," he said, to the collective apprehension of all of the soldiers involved, "Or, get me to a healing chamber and furnish me with a ship immediately, and be allowed to live...for now. I expect your decision within the next thirty seconds."
As the soldiers looked at each other with apprehension, one of them yelled out a battle cry. "Die, traitorous scum-!" he got out before a finger beam pierced his chest and left him to fall to the ground mid-flight.
"Did I say thirty seconds? I meant five," Vegeta remarked idly. Within another two, the other soldiers were hurriedly nodding and bowing their heads before Vegeta, two of them taking the initiative and helping Vegeta fly up off the ground and towards the nearest healing tank in what was left of the compound.
"Yes...it won't be long now. I'll leave as soon as I'm back to full strength, and with a faster ship, I'll be able to beat Frieza and his lackeys there! And then...immortality will be mine!"
He chuckled slightly as the door hissed open and the soldiers helped him back into the medical tank to be fully healed once more.
Day 34
"Gohan! Hey, Gohan! Wake up!"
Gohan blinked a couple times as his eyes adjusted to see Krillin hovering over him.
"What's going on?" he said, rubbing his eyes as he pulled himself out of bed.
"We're here!" Krillin replied, causing Gohan to wake up almost immediately. The boy hurriedly changed into the training gi Piccolo had made for him and met the others at the bridge.
"So, you're certain that this isn't another sensor glitch?" Yamcha asked Bulma, who swiftly shook her head. "Alright, awesome!" He moved to one of the seats and promptly strapped in, Krillin and Bulma following suit as the computer handled their descent. "Uh, Gohan, you might want to buckle up, bud-this is going to get pretty bumpy."
"Oh. Uh, alright," Gohan replied, strapping into a seat next to Krillin. "Didn't really bother me before."
"Hm?" Krillin asked, his mind having been elsewhere during the conversation.
"The takeoff. It didn't bother me all that much."
"...Huh. Weird," Krillin remarked.
"Alright, guys, entering the atmosphere now-brace yourselves!" Bulma replied from the helm of the ship just as it began shaking with the force of entry. As Gohan looked out one of the windows, he could see the air around the ship heating up before gradually dissipating, and within less than a minute, the shaking ceased following a loud thud as the ship landed. After a moment for everyone to catch their breath, Bulma unbuckled her seatbelt and gazed out the window, taking in the sight of the green sky and blue fields before her.
"Well...we made it."
And we have landed!
As you can probably tell from way back in Chapter 2, I'm not the best at writing chapters describing individual events across long time frames-the year of training on the Lookout, the month-long journey to Namek, etc. It always feels like I'm either not putting in enough scenes or putting in too many, so hopefully that wasn't a problem here.
And yeah, finally got the answer to a few questions, huh? Including Aka was kinda spur of the moment back when I was writing Chapter 10-originally, I just had Vegeta get his enhanced boost, kill Cui and everyone else at the base, then leave for Namek, and from there it'd proceed as normal. I figured that was boring, and also, I gotta admit, I like those two-felt they were underutilized. So, I found a way to incorporate them into the story in a way that makes sense, and also gives Vegeta his power boost a little early. As time has gone on, I've tried finding little ways to switch the story up to make it a more enjoyable experience-hopefully that's paying off.
Anyway, question:
"When will we see Master Roshi again?"
When he isn't dead. Revealing when exactly that will be is a fairly significant spoiler for what I've got going forward with this saga, so please do not pester me on this.
Alright, so power levels:
Vegeta(post-Zenkai): 26,000
Vegeta(Galick Gun): 32,000
Aka(Wahaha no Ha): 29,000
Piccolo(post-training): 3,675
Piccolo(post-fusion): 20,000
Yamcha, Krillin, Gohan: No change(just got better at ki control through mental training)
Cui: 18,000
Abo and Kado: I envisioned their merge technique as like a power multiplication thing, so to produce 26,000 in Aka, Abo is 130 while Kado is 200.
Frieza Planet 79 soldiers: 750-1,000
With all that said, hope you all enjoyed reading this, have yourselves a fantastic night, and take care.