So, I've started watching TFS playing through the DBZ: Kakarot game, and that motivated me to want to keep going on this story. I'd say it's high time we actually got the battle rolling, wouldn't you? Enjoy!
True to their words, Rinka and the others redoubled their training efforts after their day of leisure. Going so far as to add additional weights to their sparring matches, as much as they were able to tolerate, while working basically from when they got up until they were practically about to drop at the end of each day.
It was absolutely exhausting, almost soul crushing, but they all endured, knowing that their time limit was nearly up. So, it was now or never. If they weren't strong enough to defeat these saiyans, then there was no hope for the future of their planet.
Taking a short break, Chiaotzu and Rinka looked on along with Kami and Mr. Popo as the other four guys continued to go after each other with mounting ferocity.
"Tien and Yamcha seem about equal. They're looking good," Chiaotzu commented, from his spot floating slightly off the ground.
Rinka was right next to him, hovering while seated in the air with her legs crossed. She saw Kami acknowledge his statement with a stoic nod.
A moment later, and Rinka found herself having to shield her eyes, as the two men in question suddenly unleashed a pair of wicked energy attacks aimed directly at each other. They collided in the center, creating a brilliant reaction that would have blown them all backwards had they not braced themselves for it.
When the light faded, it revealed that they had met in the middle, and were currently locked in a grapple to see who would break first. They both grinned, recognizing each other's strength in a mutual understanding that they were about dead even.
Chiaotzu was right, they were looking good, and confident, which was encouraging to see.
Meanwhile, Krillin appeared to be, a little less so. He took a swing at Yajirobe, who was able to easily dodge it, while also occupied with chewing on a corn cob. Was that guy ever not eating? Rinka couldn't think of a time where she'd seen him without some kind of snack nearby. It was a little annoying, if she was being honest. Like, the world's about to end soon, and all you can think about is food? Speaking of which. . .
"Hey, come on! Stop kidding around!" Krillin lectured him, after recovering from his stumble.
Yajirobe just humphed in response, causing Krillin to get angry and charge at him. Except, Yajirobe was able to avoid him again. This time, by ducking underneath his legs, sending Krillin sailing up over his back before face planting straight into the marble floor. Yajirobe then flipped around and bit him on the rear! The bald monk hollered out in surprise and displeasure at the act.
Rinka slapped her face in response. She wasn't exactly holding her breath for their odds of success if biting was going to be one of their attack strategies!
Once the sparring session had finished, Kami gathered the random assortment of warriors around him so that he could give what was possibly going to be his final address before the fateful day arrived.
"Gentlemen–" he then paused for a moment as he eyed the only female in their midst. "And young lady," he opted to add, the girl grinning at him in appreciation. "Mr. Popo and I are both very pleased with the progress you have made here. Each of you has reached a new level of strength and technique, but the time has come for you to go back down to Earth. The future of the planet is in your hands. May you fight with honor," he offered to them stoically.
"Right!" the majority of the group acknowledged with determination.
"Kami? Can I take these weighted clothes off now?" Yajirobe opted to request instead.
"You may do as you please," the guardian confirmed for him, the big man wasting no time in stripping off the restricting garments.
Meanwhile, Rinka was silently questioning the wisdom of being told to 'fight with honor'. This was a life or death situation with the stake of the whole planet hanging in the balance, after all. Wouldn't it be a better idea to do whatever it takes to win? Either way, she decided to keep this opinion to herself. It was definitely not the time to be arguing with the Earth's guardian!
"So, what are you guys gonna do down below?" Yamcha wondered to the others.
"Well, I say that we go somewhere to continue our training," Krillin was quick to reply.
"That's a good idea," Chiaotzu agreed.
"Could we maybe grab some ice cream first?" Rinka casually wondered, earning her a dubious look from Krillin.
"Oooo! That's an even better idea!" Chiaotzu chimed in before anyone had a chance to protest.
"Hey, if you guys are going for ice cream, I'm down," Yajirobe was also quick to throw in his two cents.
Tien and Krillin both simultaneously rolled their eyes while Yamcha let out a low chuckle.
"Well, looks like we're going for ice cream," he determined with a grin.
. . .
After ice cream, and some deliberation, Krillin eventually decided that he was just going to head on back to Kame house and possibly get some aid from Master Roshi for his last minute training. He was surprised when Rinka eagerly requested to accompany him. He had assumed that the girl was probably getting a bit homesick by this point, opting to voice his concern.
"Are you sure that's what you wanna do? Don't you miss your home? Wouldn't you rather go and see your mom?" he wondered at her. To which the girl just fixed him with a small pout.
"Really? After all that, now you're finally trying to get rid of me?" she questioned with mock offense.
"What? No! I didn't mean it like that. I just. . ." he trailed, obviously not picking up on the sarcasm.
Rinka held out a hand to stop him and gave him a small smirk.
"While I appreciate the concern, honestly the only thing going home is going to accomplish will be my mother hounding me about Gohan! Not to mention, do you really think she's gonna let me leave again at this point if I do?" the girl reasoned, sounding doubtful.
"I suppose that's a fair point," he admitted. "Well, in that case, I guess you're welcome to stick with me. You ready to go, then?" he asked.
Rinka nodded, gathering up her things before they both blasted off in the direction of the beach house.
Arriving at the scene, they were greeted by a couple familiar faces, as well as a couple of unfamiliar ones. In fact, it wasn't just their faces that were unfamiliar as Rinka noticed that there was now a short pig-man and a floating, blue kitty along with Roshi and Bulma – whom she eventually guessed were Oolong and Yamcha's cat friend, Puar.
"Heya guys! We're back!" Krillin cheesed as they touched down on the beach next to the pinkish house.
"Oh, hello you two. What are you doing back here? Did you finish your training with Kami?" Master Roshi was the first to wonder.
"We sure did! He told us that we were about as ready as we could be, and that he and Mr. Popo didn't have anything left to teach us," Krillin confirmed.
"Well, how bout that? Guess that means those saiyans should be arriving soon," the old Master stoically nodded.
Meanwhile, Bulma was busy greeting the girl with a cheerful grin.
"Hey there, kiddo. Glad to see you managed to make it back in one piece! How are those leg weights treating ya?" she asked.
"They've been great! I really appreciate you taking the time to make them for me. I think they've really helped me push my training to the next level," she confirmed enthusiastically for her.
"And you must be Goku's daughter, Rinka, right?" Came the high-pitched, squeaky voice of the little cat creature. "It's nice to meet you. We've heard a lot about you," Puar told her.
"Likewise! Yamcha told me all about you, but I gotta say, you are so much cuter in person!" the girl gushed, not being able to resist stepping up to pet Puar in between the ears.
The shape shifting kitty blushed at the complement and giggled, sheepishly waving her off.
"Hey! What about me? Aren't I cute too?" Oolong suddenly protested at being excluded from the exchange.
Hearing him speak caused Rinka to flinch slightly. She hadn't been prepared for such a deep voice coming from such a little guy. Even so, she recovered quickly, stepping up to give him a humoring pat on the head as well.
"Of course! When are piggies not cute?" she reasoned, causing his face to flush as well as he turned away from her, now appearing embarrassed. Guess he hadn't been expecting her to agree with him.
"Yeah, well. You're not half bad yourself. You must get it from your mother's side," he mumbled out, causing Rinka's face to break out into a grin.
"Please don't encourage him, Rin. He's already hard enough to live with as it is!" Bulma lectured her with a irritated sigh.
"Sorry," she was quick to reply and remove her hand. Although, this didn't affect her pleasant disposition.
"So, how's your guy's hunt for the Dragon Balls going?" Krillin inquired, effectively changing the subject.
"Oh, we already got all seven ages ago! Turns out, collecting the Dragon Balls is a lot easier when there aren't wannabe emperors, evil organizations, or psycho assassins all trying to get their hands on them too," Bulma joked.
"Maybe easier, but not nearly as exciting," Rinka found herself pointing out.
"Well, I don't know about you, girly, but I'm fine with having less excitement in my life," Oolong was quick to argue.
"What do you mean? Krillin hardly even mentioned you in his story," Rinka realized, earning the bald monk some questioning looks from the others.
"I've been, filling her in on some of the highlights of our adventures," he explained.
"Why?" Bulma wondered incredulously.
"She asked," he replied with a shrug.
"I guess it's true that Oolong was more involved before Krillin came along," Bulma realized.
"Either way, things are about to start going way beyond 'exciting' if Baba's prediction is any indication," Master Roshi reminded them all with a deep sigh.
"Speaking of which, we really need to get back to training," Krillin announced, turning towards the girl at his side. "You ready, Rin?" he asked her.
"Yeah! Let's do it!" she agreed, following him back out the door.
"Hey, wait! But you guys just got back. Don't you think you've done enough training?" Bulma attempted to call after them, but it was no use. They were already long gone to find a good spot.
"Don't discourage them, Bulma. After all, even just the smallest boost in power might mean the difference between victory and defeat," Roshi stoically lectured.
. . .
More time passed as the small groups of fighters tensely waited for that fateful day, doing what they could to grow as strong as possible in the short period they had left. Rinka and Krillin were no exception, training and sparring from early morning and usually not returning to Kame house until late in the evening. It was about the time when Rinka thought their year should be up, when it finally happened. They were in the middle of a quick lunch when they suddenly heard something strange coming from the bathroom.
"Goku, it's you! But, where are you?" Master Roshi began demanding from the other side of the door. "Yes, I can," he continued after a minute, causing the rest of the room to pause what they were doing and glance in the direction his voice was coming from.
"Sure did! We're ready when you are! I understand that you've been undergoing some sort of new training?"
Rinka turned to fix Krillin a dubious look.
"Um, does Master Roshi usually like to talk to himself while he's on the pot?" she wondered.
"Uh, no? This is new to me too," he confirmed.
"What?! When?! Tomorrow you say?! But, but that can't be! I mean, has it been a year already? Oh, this is bad!" the old man was suddenly shouting, making the rest of them flinch in surprise.
"Hey, uh – now listen. I'm not sure how this is all gonna turn out, but – I have a feeling it's going to be some messy business. I hope you're ready." Roshi grunted hard before continuing. "Well, that is a huge relief," he finished, everyone else just blinking towards the bathroom in stymied confusion.
"Oh boy! Tell ya what. I uh, changed my mind, Bulma. You can go next if ya want," Oolong decided matter-of-factly.
"That's okay," she whined in reply.
Rinka wasn't able to stop herself from letting out several loud cackles at the suddenly absurd situation. Krillin tried to give her a disapproving look, but it was clear that he was having trouble keeping a straight face as well.
"You know, it's not very nice to make fun of an old man for having bowel issues," he retorted, but he wasn't able to sound particularly convincing as he did so.
"Oh, come on. It doesn't matter how old you get. Potty humor is always funny," she argued back.
Krillin managed to smile while simultaneously rolling his eyes as Master Roshi suddenly burst from the room, his pants still dangling around his ankles.
"Hey gang! Get the Dragon Balls! I just talked to Goku!" he announced.
"Guess he hasn't lost it yet after all," Krillin mumbled under his breath, grinning as he watched Rinka renew her giggling at the comment.
Gathering up the magical spheres, they all filed outside to watch as Master Roshi arranged them on the ground. The close proximity of all seven being together was causing them to glow and pulsate with power.
"Alright, here goes!" Master Roshi declared, throwing out his hands in a dramatic display. "Now, Dragon! Arise!" he ordered towards the balls, before visibly cringing and booking it around and behind the rest of the group for cover.
The orbs were now consistently shining, and the light was getting even brighter.
"I don't think I'll ever get used to this," Bulma commented in a nervous tone.
"Yeah, tell me about it! Even my nose hairs are standing up!" Oolong agreed.
Rinka, on the other hand, was positively brimming with anticipation! After all, it wasn't every day one had the opportunity to witness the summoning of the Eternal Dragon! The process was positively epic! The entire sky turned a wicked black, followed by powerful streaks of lightening arching their way across the dense clouds!
"This is so cool!" the girl cried in delight.
"Glad you think so," Krillin told her, albeit a bit shakily as he placed a protective hand on her head.
Meanwhile, behind them, Oolong was desperately attempting to cling to the older woman in fear, but it was clear she was having none of it.
"Hands off, pig!" she barked, attempting to shove him away, but he struggled against it.
"Hey! Come on, Bulma! I'm scared here!" he tried to argue.
The mild tiff was abruptly interrupted by a massive beam of yellow light suddenly blasting it's way up from the ground where the Dragon Balls had been placed. There was some deafening, guttural growls before the light eventually manifested itself into a brilliantly, green dragon, who's body was so long that it appeared to be never ending! It leered down at the gaggle of smaller creatures below.
"Why have you summoned me?" It asked in a glorious baritone. "Tell me your wish, now!" he ordered.
"Yes, uh, excuse me, mister dragon," Oolong surprisingly spoke up after being so fearful before. "Could you possibly destroy the saiyans, that are on their way to earth right about now?" he requested hesitantly.
"Hey, Oolong! That's not the wish! What about Goku, you little pig?!" Bulma rounded on him in a rage.
"What?! We could wish Goku back, but why not wish him back next time and have the dragon save the world now?" he reasoned, quite logically actually.
"I mean, that's not the worst idea," Rinka couldn't help but agree. "Only – then what did we do all that training for?" she lamented, doubling over with a heavy sigh.
"Hey, come on. It wasn't all bad, right?" Krillin offered in an attempt to cheer her up.
She turned back towards him with a small smile. "Yeah, I guess you're right," she admitted.
"Besides, we should wait to see what the dragon has to say before you start dismissing all our work," he added.
"Your wish cannot be granted, because the guardian of Earth created me. I cannot grant a wish that exceeds his power," the dragon then explained to them.
"Ya see? I was afraid of that," Krillin quipped.
"Then I wish for Goku to be brought back to life," Master Roshi requested of the dragon instead.
"So be it. Your wish has been granted," the dragon confirmed, eyes glowing an eerie red. And with a final growl, Shenron took off and vanished into the ether, the Dragon Balls then rising into the air before blasting away, scattering in all directions.
Once the sky had returned to its normal coloration, Rinka glanced around at the stunned faces of her father's friends.
"So. . . now what?" she wondered.
"Now, we wait," Krillin confirmed for her.
. . .
The sickening sensation of two massive powers unlike Rinka had ever experienced before snapped her out of the meditation session she'd been sharing with Krillin. She was on her feet in an instant to find that Krillin was as well. They flashed each other nervous looks.
"Do, do you, feel. . .?" the girl trailed.
"Oh yeah! I can feel that," he confirmed, swallowing hard. "Kami wasn't kidding when he told us these two were going to be way stronger than the ones in the Pendulum Room!"
"Guess this is it. So, where do we go from here?" Rinka wondered, looking to her more experienced friend for guidance.
However, before he even had a chance to respond, a massive explosion of some kind suddenly erupted from the area where they'd sensed the new, giant energy levels. It was so potent, that the blast radius reached even where they were at, blowing them both back in a violent wind. Being caught off guard, Krillin barely had time to latch onto a nearby rock to keep from getting completely bowled over. He reached out and snatched Rinka by the wrist to keep her from flying away as she sailed past, pulling her against the boulder behind him as a shield.
"This is intense!" she heard him grunt out.
"You can say that again! Did they – did they just blow up a city?!" she questioned in shock, sensing out the sudden disappearance of all the smaller energy levels that had just been surrounding the massive ones.
"Yeah," Krillin confirmed, albeit a bit shakily as the aftershock gradually died down. He turned to find Rinka's expression matching his own apprehension.
"Y-you know, no one's going to judge you if you decide not to show," he offered, knowing that this was the last chance the girl had to back out if she really wanted to.
Except, she surprised him by flashing him a look of deliberate determination instead, rapidly shaking her head.
"Are you kidding? Of course I'm not about to wimp out now! We have got to stop those guys before they hurt any more people! Also, I know my brother is gonna be there with Piccolo! There's no way I could just – abandon him like that!" she snapped back in a lecturing tone.
"Alright, Rin. I was just making sure," he was quick to placate her, putting up his hands in defense. "If that's the case, then," he paused, concentrating. "Feels like they're on the move," he noted, rushing to shimmy out of his weighted clothing.
"Right in the direction of Piccolo and my little brother!" she realized with dismay, pulling off her own leg weights along with him.
"Yeah, and at that speed, it won't take them very long to get to them," he sighed, hesitating for a moment as he stared off into the distance. "Goku, you better hurry up and get back!" he symbolically declared to her father.
"I mean, it's already been like, a whole day since we wished him back to life. So, why isn't he here yet?" Rinka found herself wondering. She still wasn't super clear on how all this, reviving someone from the dead with magical, wish-granting balls was supposed to work.
"I don't know, but I'm sure he's doing everything he can to get to us as quickly as possible. After all, he knows how much I hate fighting without him!" Krillin emphasized with a cheesy grin.
"I hope you're right," she replied quietly, not feeling nearly as sure as he was.
"Let's head out, and hopefully we can get to your brother before the saiyans do," he told her.
"Right!" she acknowledged, taking to the air and making a beeline for where she knew Gohan was waiting.
They were able to hear the pair discussing something in stressful tones as Krillin and the girl approached their position. Something about, possibly being more than they expected.
"But, I thought you said there were only supposed to be two saiyans?" Gohan was arguing as both he and Piccolo were frantically glancing around, deliberately turning towards Krillin and Rinka when they landed in the clearing next to them.
"Well, I know I've got saiyan blood in me now, but I am technically only half," Rinka joked with a wide smile at the surprised faces of the green man and her little brother.
It only took half a second for Gohan to recognize her, his own face breaking out into an equally excited grin.
"It's my big sister and Krillin!" he cheered with glee, dashing in their direction before Piccolo could stop him and leaping into her arms. Rinka was more than happy to return the embrace, merrily spinning him around in a little circle.
"Rin! Rin! I'm so happy to see you! I've missed you so much!" the boy cried out at her.
"I've missed you too, little bro!" she wholeheartedly agreed. "But, look at you! You've gotten so big and strong, I hardly recognize you!" she gushed in praise.
"Aw, thanks Rin. I can tell you've gotten stronger too! Have you been training with Krillin?" he guessed, deducing as such since they showed up together.
"That's right," she nodded in acknowledgment. "I wasn't about to just sit around and let you have all the fun," she teased, earning a small giggle from him.
"Gohan!" The sharp retort from Piccolo suddenly cutting the heartfelt reunion short, both kids flinching at the sound. "That's enough! We've come too far for you to start getting distracted now! Keep your mind on the task at hand!" he ordered harshly, Gohan's expression visibly drooping at the reprimand.
"Hey, come on man. The kids haven't seen each other in a year. Would it kill ya to cut them a little slack?" Krillin argued in their defense.
"Don't you get it?! It could kill us all! There will be plenty of time for all that once the saiyans are defeated. But if we want to have any hope of survival, we can't afford to show any kind of weakness!" Piccolo ranted in reply.
Rinka sighed. As much as she didn't enjoy listening to him hollering at her brother like that, she had to admit that he did have a point. So, she pulled Gohan off of her and leveled him with a stern gaze.
"He's right, baby bro. It's time for us to put our game faces on. These saiyans are gonna be some seriously tough contenders, so we've gotta be ready for anything," she offered encouragingly, straightening up and smacking her cheeks a couple of times, before crossing her arms and staring off into the distance with a look of serious resolution.
Gohan studied her for a moment before ultimately deciding to mimic her stance, causing Rinka to have a hard time not breaking character in amusement. Meanwhile, Piccolo blew out an exasperated sigh.
"Well, I guess you two are welcome to stay and help if you want, but you're right that things are gonna get intense. You both might just end up slowing us down," he taunted.
"I doubt that. Me and Rin here have been doing some serious training of our own," Krillin argued, plopping an affectionate hand on top of the girl's head. "I think you might be impressed if you'd seen how hard she's been working," he offered casually.
"While it's true I can feel a significant increase in both of your power levels, it's still not enough to impress me," Piccolo merely humphed in reply.
"Then it's a good thing that I'm not here to impress you," Rinka shot back without missing a beat, turning away in a slight pout.
It was at least partially true. While it was annoying that she was still being disregarded by the guy who had chosen her younger brother over her, she just had to remind herself that at least Kami had seen her as worth taking the time to train on the Lookout. Not to mention, she felt like she'd more-or-less earned the respect of the other warriors who she'd spent the better part of the past year with. That certainly counted for something.
Piccolo just stared back at the girl, appearing as though he wasn't sure how to react to that. Meanwhile, Gohan and Krillin had started shuffling uncomfortably.
"So, uh, Goku's running pretty late. Guess we'll have to hold out without him somehow," Krillin commented in an attempt to change the subject and break up the tension.
"Uh, he's coming? I mean, you really know that for sure, Krillin?" Gohan questioned with obvious anticipation.
"Of course he is! Master Roshi just talked to him the other day," he replied.
"Not to mention, we watched him wish him back to life with the Dragon Balls," Rinka added.
"Don't worry, Gohan. He'll be here, alright!" Krillin assured him.
"Wow! That's great! Thanks Krillin!" Gohan cheered with a grin before turning towards his sister. "So, Rin, you really got to see the dragon?" he asked.
"I did. It was pretty cool, let me tell you. It still made all of dad's friends nervous though, even though they've already seen the dragon more than once," she mentioned with a laughing air.
"Oh yeah, that reminds me. Krillin, you grew up with my dad, didn't you? He said guys thought you couldn't fight because you were so short!" Gohan pointed out to him with zero remorse.
Rinka had to put a hand over her mouth to keep from laughing, earning her an irritated scowl from the offended party.
"Short, huh? Actually, we were the same size. But then, he kept growing and I, stopped," Krillin muttered, seemingly reluctant to admit. After a moment, he leaned down closer to the boy and continued in a hushed tone. "By the way, are you alright? No one's ever trained with Piccolo before," he wondered.
Rinka confessed that she'd considered asking Gohan about his training, but she realized it never occurred to her to wonder about his well being. After all, he seemed to be fine to her. More confident and assertive even. It would appear that training with Piccolo had done him some good, not that she wanted to go admitting that out loud right now or anything!
"Aw, it wasn't that bad. Once you get used to him, he's great," Gohan assured him.
It was nice to hear that he treated Gohan well, at least. Rinka couldn't help the small smile that was tugging at the corners of her mouth as she watched his happy face.
"Hey! That's enough of your small talk! They're here," Piccolo suddenly barked at them, making the group snap to attention at this revelation.
They let out a collective gasp as all eyes shot to the sky. Sure enough, a pair of mean-looking dudes dressed almost identically to Raditz were hanging out in the air above them. Both of the men leered down at their quarry with murder in their eyes.
"So, two more joined them," they could hear the larger of the men chuckle darkly. "What do you suppose these four are doing out in the middle of nowhere?" he wondered.
"I think they were waiting for us. Yes, I'm sure of it," the shorter one with the spiky hair surmised.
"Whoa, this is it! It's really happening. So, these are the saiyans. Can you feel those power levels?! They're even stronger than I imagined! What are we gonna do, guys?!" Krillin exclaimed nervously.
"W-well, I mean, panicking isn't going to help," Rinka attempted to reason, but it fell a bit short due to her struggle to keep her own voice steady.
Logic wasn't really worth anything when it was being overshadowed by fear. After all, Krillin did have a point. These energies were way beyond anything they ever faced in the Pendulum Room! So, unless Piccolo was hiding some kind of crazy amount of power, as things stood, it didn't seem like they had even a breath of a chance!
The two saiyans slowly descended until they touched ground, squaring off against the small group.
"So, we meet at last," the smaller one stated in mock greeting.
"The pleasure's mine," Piccolo wasted no time in replying in kind.
There was a moment of tense silence as both sides of the field spent some time studying their opponents, a few of the members more warily than others.
"I'm only gonna say this once!" Piccolo announced, finally addressing the threat. "Leave this planet!" he ordered. "This is your first and last chance to get out of this alive," he added as a warning.
If only it were that easy.
"That voice. I see! You're the one who defeated Raditz one year ago," the smaller saiyan seemed to realize.
"My voice?" Piccolo questioned in confusion.
"Right! Didn't Raditz tell you?" Mr. Spiky Hair inquired.
"You mean, how that device you're wearing is also a communicator? Yeah, I remember," Rinka offered, motioning towards the little screen on his face as she recalled what her uncle had explained to them, before he'd been killed by Piccolo.
The pair both studied her curiously for a moment, before the shorter one let a smile slowly spread across his face. The motion was so menacing that it made the girl's skin crawl.
"Well, well. It seems at least one of you knows how to pay attention," he commented.
"Hey, the green one's from Namek, isn't he?" the burly one suddenly chimed in, as if he'd just noticed that Piccolo was green.
"Yes, he's from Namek, alright," the other confirmed, eliciting startled reactions from the group of earth warriors. This was definitely news to them, leaving everyone wondering, what the heck was a 'Namek'? "No wonder Raditz had such a hard time with him and Kakarot."
"I'm from Namek," Piccolo declared, looking like someone had just punched him in the gut!
He sat in stunned silence for a moment, making Rinka wonder if he was going to be okay.
"Piccolo, I – I didn't know you were from outer space," Krillin mentioned, pulling the green man back to reality with a growl. "Course, it makes sense," he muttered as an afterthought.
"Is – is that true, Piccolo?" Gohan wondered curiously up at him.
Except, Piccolo didn't reply. He just continued snarling and glaring at the saiyans, to the point where it became rather telling.
"You didn't know? Well, what a surprise. Surely you must have suspected something before now. The green skin and pointy ears are a dead giveaway. Don't you think?" the small man reasoned, making them all sound like morons for not figuring it out sooner.
Although, Rinka couldn't stop herself from shrugging and commenting on their other similar scenario. "I mean, when you consider that no one knew that dad was an alien either. That is, until uncle Raditz showed up, anyhow."
Spiky hair picked right up on that, a glint in his eye as he leveled his gaze back at the girl.
"Ah, so you are one of Kakarot's offspring. Meaning that the boy next to you must be your brother. Why else would you lot bring a couple of runts to the battlefield?" he determined.
Rinka felt her teeth grind at once again being labeled as a runt!
"Hey! Looks like you can't exactly reach the high shelf, either," she shot back before she could think better of it. The fact that these guys hadn't immediately attempted to destroy them apparently giving her a false sense of security.
"Rinka!" Krillin immediately called in alarm, yanking her back to try and discourage any further provocations!
However, Mr. Short Saiyan simply let out a bout of cackling laughter at the comment. Not appearing bothered by it at all.
"Interesting! Looks like the girl has some brass. The mark of a true saiyan if there ever was one," he concluded, Rinka only grumbling in reply.
During all this, Piccolo didn't seem to be reacting at all. It appeared as though they had lost him to some type of internal quandary again. Only when the saiyan directly addressed him did he snap back to attention.
"Either way, it was you who told Raditz about the Dragon Balls," he motioned towards Piccolo. "Now tell us, where are they?" he ordered.
"But, no one knows where they are, not for a whole year!" Krillin tried to explain, but it didn't do any good.
"That's enough! We know the balls are down here. Make no mistake, we will find them, with you alive or with you dead. It's your decision. Tell us where they are, or you will all be killed," the big guy threatened.
Gohan and Krillin cringed away from him, but Rinka simply snorted in derision. She'd seen enough movies to know that the bad guys never kept their word! They were going to try and kill them either way, regardless of whether they offered to tell them where the Dragon Balls were or not!
"Huh. I wanna thank you," Piccolo decided to tell them instead. "Because of you, I now know that I come from the planet, Namek. But, this is my planet now. And no one is going to tell me what to do with it!" he ranted at them.
"So, back off! We're not here to bow down to your demands! We're here, to fight!" he announced with no uncertain terms, taking an aggressive stance as if to emphasize his words. "So, go ahead and do whatever it is you came here to do!" he taunted them.
However, before anyone had a chance to do or say anything more, the sound of aircraft blades suddenly redirected all their attention to the surrounding skyline. Sure enough, a gaggle of what appeared to be news helicopters had just arrived on the scene. No doubt drawn by the sudden destruction of the city and curious to find out more about what was going on. That didn't stop the group from glancing up at them in startled confusion.
A moment later, and the big saiyan apparently decided that he didn't appreciate the attention. With a growl, he turned and thrust a powerful energy attack in the direction of the nearest craft with a bright flash, having no trouble turning it into dust! Krillin and the kids let out cries of shock and horror at the obvious murder that just occurred in front of them. Rinka even feeling a wave of guilt that she should have done something to prevent it, but it had just happened so fast. . .
The remaining crew thankfully bailed pretty quickly after that!
Fearing that a direct assault from their enemy would be soon headed their way as well – Rinka, Gohan, and Krillin joined Piccolo in defensive, ready stances, preparing themselves for the inevitable.
"I guess they're not going to tell us where the Dragon Balls are, Nappa," the shorter guy decided, labeling one of them for the first time.
"Wanna bet?" the one called Nappa, challenged. "Alright, let's see how strong you really are," he continued, clicking on his scouter to get a read on their power levels, just like Raditz had done before. "The boy's at 1,000, the girl is 950, the Namek is at 1,400, and the midget is at 1,100," he announced.
While it was interesting to get an actual number value to their power, the earth warriors all knew those values were far from accurate readings. He was only detecting the tip of the iceberg, after all.
"You fools! Do you really think you can beat us with such puny power levels?" Nappa commented on them anyway.
However, seeming to understand what was really happening here, the little saiyan proceeded to pull his own reader off his face, and noted as such.
"Hey Nappa, take your scouter off," he ordered.
"What?" the big guy quacked in confusion.
"It seems they know how to concentrate energy and raise their fighting powers. These figures are most unreliable," he explained, dropping the device to the ground.
"Hey, right. Good call. Now I remember, that pathetic loser, Raditz, let himself be fooled by all their power readings," Nappa agreed, readily following suit with his own scouter.
"Ugh! You three be ready for them!" Piccolo exclaimed in warning, assuming that after that display, an attack was likely eminent.
"Wait! Piccolo, if they're stronger than Raditz, and Goku isn't here, how do you expect to defeat them with just us?" Krillin wondered with a rather valid observation.
"We stall?" Rinka offered with a hapless shrug. It seemed to be their only reasonable option, after all.
Piccolo let out a tch, and grit his teeth in frustration, not bothering to reply. He was clearly reluctant to validate either the point or the suggestion.
"Guess we don't really have any other choice, huh?" Krillin admitted in the girl's direction. "Well, alright guys, let's just do everything we can then," he seemed to decide with renewed determination.
"Nappa, I believe it's time we have a little fun with them. Better yet, get those Saibamen out. There should be six of them left. They'll do," Mr. Short Stuff stated, making them all wonder what it was he could be talking about.
"You're too much. You really know how to have fun," Nappa told him.
"Huh? Saibamen?" Krillin wondered at the strange word.
"I don't see any men," Gohan observed.
"So, what? Are they just gonna pull a squad of dudes out of their back pocket, or something?" Rinka scoffed, until, that's exactly what he did!
Nappa reached behind his back, before bringing out a small capsule containing what appeared to be peas resting at the top. A strange, green liquid occupied the other half of the bottle.
"Huh, you're right, there are six," he observed.
"Maybe the Saibamen can persuade them to tell us where the Dragon Balls are. Huh, Nappa?" Spiky head taunted.
"Oh, I think they can arrange that," he replied with a chuckle, bending down to study the dirt underneath him.
Nappa then proceeded to literally plant the 'peas' in the ground, watering them with the liquid that came with the capsule. After a moment, the green goo began to absorb into the soil.
"O-kay? What are they doing?" Krillin asked out loud, not that anyone was able to answer him.
"I think we're about to find out!" Piccolo snapped.
"There!" Nappa confirmed with satisfaction, tossing the now empty bottle aside.
It was only about a second after he'd finished, that the earth where he'd put the little balls began to erupt in a rather unsettling motion. Like something underneath had come to life, and was now attempting to escape. The group of earth fighters flinched in surprise, as half a dozen green, wrinkled heads started to jut out of the ground, the scene giving Rinka some serious zombie vibes! Before they knew it, six little, green gnome-looking dudes were now standing where the 'peas' had just been, leaving the warriors even more stymied!
"And, they just grew themselves a squad! Now that's not something you see every day. Consider my previous skepticism retracted," Rinka found herself commenting on the bizarre scene, motioning towards the small horde of monsters.
"Well, at least, they're shorter than I am," Krillin pointed out, trying to find any kind of win where he could.
It didn't take long for it to be made apparent that these things were built for fighting and not much else. They wasted no time in growing immediately aggressive, launching themselves towards what they must have recognized as their intended targets. They began with rapidly circling the earth warriors, Rinka managing to keep up with their movements, but still feeling nervous with not knowing how they were planning to strike.
That's when they all leapt into the air, clearly intending on gaining an advantage by attacking from above. Except, instead of attacking them, the creatures just started to destroy the surrounding landscape, turning the large stone formations around them into rubble. Although, Rinka wasn't really sure as to why. Was it just some kind of demonstration of power to get them rattled?
The green gnomes then regrouped before screeching into the sky in some kind of demented battle cry.
"They're brainless, crazy monsters!" Krillin exclaimed with disdain at the display.
"They're strong, too," Piccolo added in displeasure.
"This should be a pretty good match up. These Saibamen seem spunky," the small guy decided.
"I'll take the two on the left," Krillin called.
"I got the two in the middle," Piccolo was also quick to claim. "That leaves one for each of you kids on the right. Think you can handle that?" he directed the inquiry at Rinka, fixing her with a dubious, narrowed gaze.
"Please, I've got this. No problem," she assured him, but not without returning a glare of her own. He was about to find out that there was more to her than he was giving her credit for!