Dragon Ball - Heart of the Adventurers

By LastationLover5000, and Demod20, edited by Firegod00

Chapter 20 - Journey into the Stars

"Whoa!" A young pair of hands pressed against the glass, big eyes attached to a round face possessed a mouth widened and a long scraggly mane of black. Beyond the glass in teal, bubbling liquid, was a boy suspended in the cylinder tank. Eyes closed with angled messy hair of the same color and a furred tail, mouth covered by a breathing apparatus and quietly sleeping within. A big grin spread over his face as he saw the image of this child, realizing who it belonged to. "So, you're my little brother, huh? You look a bit scrawny to be related to me, but you got our dad's hair, so I guess it helps."

"I'm sure he'll grow into a big, healthy Saiyan, Raditz," A maternal hand pressed into his scalp, rustling his head much to his smiling glee. His eyes would see the warm comforting smile that fell gently across a smaller, ovular face with rounded cute cheeks and deep onyx eyes. Her own scraggly hair rested over her shoulders to the middle of her back, dressed in sleeveless battle jacket of dark emerald with a golden set of stripes over the abdomen that matched the shoulder harnesses. Rose colored arm warmers rustled as she placed both hands on his shoulders, looking straight at the floating child of hers resting within the incubator machine. "Our little Kakarrot. I can't wait for your father to see him."

"When is he going to come back?!" Raditz asked with a upward look at the taller Saiyaness.

Bending down, the female Saiyan rested her chin on his head and whispered to him, "He'll probably come back by the time you leave on your assignment with the prince."

"Aw!" He pouted, feeling disheartened even as his mother knelt down to smother him in a maternal embrace. Arms wrapped around his chest, and her chin continued to nestle on his crown, looking down at him with a hidden smile of mischief on her face. Despite the warmth flush on his cheeks, he remained adamantly grumpy as he frowned and looked away.

"I know you wanted to see your father, but he's gone on a longer assignment than usual. I'm sure he'll come back soon. And when you're back, I promise to make sure he stays long enough for all of us to be together as a family. How does that sound?"

"...you promise?" Raditz quietly asked, his eyes no longer furrowed as hope glinted in his eyes.

"Of course," She placed a peck on his scalp, turning her gaze at Kakarrot's floating frame, watching him twitch a little within. A thoughtful look crossed her face, her voice becoming quieter again as she murmured aloud. "Hey, Raditz. You'll watch out for Kakarrot, won't you?"

"Of course!" He mimed his mother's response, this time a bit boisterously as he placed his pinned arms on his hips as proudly as his small frame could allow. "I'll be the best big brother! Even if he is a bit of a scrawny squirt!"

"Well aren't you the big Saiyan?" The mother of two asked teasingly, uncrossing her hands long enough to tickle him beneath his arms.

"N-No! S-Stop it, mom!" He began to recoil, doing his best to squirm out of her grasp, eventually submitting in writhing squeals of laughter.

Laughter that eventually whisked the scene into a white haze, bleeding out into static as everything of joy and comfort was replaced by an unforgiving void. The laughter became synonymous with mockery, echoing all around and derision filling his very being. A festering self deprecation came with the desire to leave this place of torment, to be rid of such sad excuses for company and exclusion. He wished for freedom, power, and pride for himself beyond anything else.

And then, the white haze of mockery became dark; filled by familiar laughter that was annoying but, warm at the same time. It wasn't anything more than a recent change, a phenomena that began to alter his perception on things. His rough shell remained but within came a beating heart that was starting to alter, to feel something for this bubbling expression of joy. No matter what he did, he couldn't dislike this form of laughter.

Then, came awakening; and another form of laughter that brought unquestioning amount of annoyance.

The Saiyan woke with a start, eyes staring painfully into an artificial gleam from the ceiling. Eyes winced at the sudden change in visibility and clenched his brows tightly together. After a few moments of trying to acclimate to his new visual spectrum, Raditz turned his head, trying to gauge where he was.

Within the room was nothing but a primitive form of hospital, with luminescent bulbs covered by plastic joined to the ceiling with a fan flowing freely above their heads. He was lying on a bed, but that wasn't important at the moment. What was more important was the sight of his sibling lying prostrate in several bulky casts and bandaged all over himself, with only a few strips across his face and head that left his head free like himself. He was laughing about something next to his lavender haired wife, the latter of which shared a small giggle with him.

He tried to move but felt a spike of pain run all over his being, more or less an ache that was dully noticed until his attempt of motion. He grimaced under his breath, trying to not let his futile movement be noticed. However, a presence looming over his left side caused his eyes to widen and his face turn to look at a familiar head of blonde look down at him with black eyes that sparked a tangible memory that he swore wasn't far away.

Then, he was finger flicked in the middle of his broad forehead.

"GAH! Dammit, woman! What was that for?!" He bellowed aloud with vein sprouting indignation.

"Oh? He's awake!" Goku piped up, looking over with a seated Bulma who turned her purple head to look at her sister. "Heya, bro! I was getting worried you wouldn't wake up, haha!"

"Of course I'm awake, you dim-witted dolt!" The older Saiyan barked with bared teeth, stifling another seething exhale of pain as he turned his head unintentionally with the rest of his body on instinct. "Why wouldn't I be?"

"Because you've been asleep for a week, idiot!" Tights flicked his forehead again, causing undue anger in the man as he was snapped back to attention. Placing her hands on her hips, the overalls wearing woman gestured to the rest of his body, leading the long-haired alien to gape at the sheer extent of damage done to him. His lower body was cast up to the hips, bandages interlaced with one another while straps seemed to keep him pinned to the cot. His right arm was the least damaged, looking to be recovering from extensive burns and bruising, while his left arm was in a thick reinforced cast that disabled him from even attempting to move the appendage. As he absorbed his condition, the blonde sister of Bulma rattled off against him continuously. "Bulma was able to tell the battle was over thanks to her Scouter-like tech she put in her eyes, allowing us to pick up you reckless battle junkies up. Pan was in a pretty bad state, and Goku looked like a complete mess. But you...you weren't even moving," She glared at him hard to emphasize this, eyes closing as she balled her fists at her side with implied stress. "It was a miracle you survived what you did. The doctors thought you were in some trauma induced coma and that you could've been unconscious for months, possibly years."

"Well," Raditz began to say something, causing the blonde's eyes to open angrily at him, forcing him to stifle a retort in favor of looking away and muttering in a carefully crafted response. "If I was an Earthling, that'd be the case. But I'm a Saiyan, so of course I wouldn't let this keep me down, you know?"

Seeing the uncomfortable measure of his reply to her gave Tights pause. He rarely spoke kindly to anybody, and to see him act ashamed to put her into such a state brought a tinge of regret of her own for being so hard. Sighing, Tights bent down and gave Raditz a hug around the neck, nestling her face into the mane around his temple; earning a look of bashful incredulity.

"Wh-What are you doing, woman?!"

"This is called a hug," Tights teased with a whisper into his ear. "I'm not sorry for scolding you, but I am glad that you understand what you did was reckless. Try not to put yourself into deliberate danger unless it's absolutely necessary, okay?"

"W-Whatever, just unhand me, please!" He pleaded with desperation, flinching as his body twitched and more agony flooded his system.

"Wow, who knew you could be such a smooth talker?" Bulma noted with a cheeky grin, noticing the affectionate hold brought her brother-in-law's bothered countenance.

"Sh-Shut your trap!" He weakly snapped, unable to do much with the arms wrapped around his neck. "If I wasn't in this condition I'd-!"

"You'd what?" Tights whispered dangerously into his ear,.

"...nothing," He grumbled, feeling the heat on his face briefly turn into cold chills from Tights' low key threat.

"Geez, if you're bothered by this, you probably won't like to hear what happened to the other Saiyans," Goku chuckled out loud. The moment his voice let loose those words he immediately felt the air turn cold. Looking at Bulma's widened eyes, staring incredulously at him, to Tights withdrawing hesitantly from a now vividly angered Raditz. Unable to move much himself, the younger brother laughed nervously as he tried to explain himself. "I-I mean, it's not like you were doing anything while unconscious, so-"

"What! Happened!" Raditz asked between gritted teeth, his eyes revealing red lines from the pupil and his brow beginning to throb veins through barely concealed rage. "Kakarrot?!"

"Hehe, eh...well," He began to fumble over his words, feeling a bit afraid of his older sibling, despite both of their conditions. "Y-You see...I...uh...sort've spared Nappa and Parspa..."

"Aspara," Bulma corrected with an eye rolling sigh, massaging the bridge of her nose as she bothered to summarize what her husband couldn't bother to vocalize. "This brain dead idiot of mine thought it'd be a good idea to give a little forgiveness to everybody. Turns out that the reason his crazy, has-been girlfriend Chi-Chi didn't arrive to help sooner was that she stopped by an incapacitated and crazy Saiyaness. She had managed to give enough first aid to the point that she was allowed to escape, because Goku didn't want us doing a carpet bombing where she was last spotted. And Nappa, well, was kind of too beat up to put up any sort of fight when he decided to go follow his big bad prince at who knows where," She capped off, crossing her arms over her ample chest and sparing a glare at her meek appearing husband before looking at a very annoyed Raditz. "So yeah, that dolt left two dangerous enemies leave after Vegeta. Not exactly what I'd call a real win, but they shouldn't be getting back for revenge any time soon."

"Yes, and no," He corrected her, the Saiyan looking to Tights while side glancing at his defeated looking brother and attentive sister-in-law. "Where we hail from has sophisticated medical equipment leagues above your planet's level. Healing will take only hours or days at most, and that's with even the most grievous of injuries. Even those on death's door will have a hard time dying once immediately treated at our facilities."

"Oh that's terrific!" Bulma cried exasperatedly.

"Worse, we Saiyans grow stronger after being pushed to the brink of death, and surviving from it," Raditz turned to look squarely at Goku, his eyes broadening with the clenching of his brows in emphasis of his words. "And guess how close to death each of those Saiyans were?"

"Ohhhhhhhhhh," Son Goku exhaled, looking a bit concerned as his eyes darted to Bulma and then back at his brother. Nervously, he giggled and grinned goofily at him. "I guess that means he'll be that much stronger to take on, won't he?"

"DON'T YOU GET IT?!" Raditz cried out, surprising everyone in the room as his voice bellowed within the hospital quarters. "That was our one chance to kill Vegeta, and you squandered it for your lust for battle! Worse, you gave him two subordinates to call upon, and at best they'd be at odds with him but still enemies of ours! What kind of foolish thing went through your head to imagine this as a positive outcome?!"

"I don't like to kill, Raditz," Goku responded in a surprisingly somber tone. It even made the older Saiyan give pause as the Turtle Schooler explained himself as he looked over at his sibling's body and then his own. "I was taught by Kami to not take life for granted, nor to take other lives so easily. When I was younger, if someone was coming for my own life, I'd respond in kind and I didn't think anything of it. But now, it just leaves a bad taste in my mouth; to lose the potential for good or even a great challenge in the future, is just a waste."

"Tch, still!" The older Saiyan tried to insist, only for Goku to grin cockily back at him, much to his annoyance. "What's with that look?!"

"Raditz, don't you see? The same rule about Saiyans applies to us too," He explained, furrowed brows enhancing a devilish smirk as his eyes stared at Raditz's wide-eyed ones. "We took as much of a beating as they did, if not more. Hey, you probably got the worst of it since the Genki-Dama was hurting you the whole time you tried to use it. I doubt Vegeta would be that much stronger than us, or the other two for that matter," He chuckled lowly, finishing with a more broad smile of pride with squinting eyes. "Even Pan might be way stronger thanks to her helping us out, despite being a little out of control back there."

"I still don't condone it," Bulma huffed, looking sternly at her husband, much to his chagrin. "If it wasn't for the fact that it helped us all survive another day, I'd wouldn't recommend putting her in such brazen danger like that if I can help it."

"But Bulma! Aren't you guys going to space in a couple of days?!" He cried out with a bemoaning tone.

It suddenly clicked in Raditz's head that seven days had went by since the battle's end. Other than the obvious immediate aftermath, he had no idea what the plans these Earthlings had after surviving. Recollecting himself, he decided to breach the subject before Bulma could steer it into another couple spat.

"What do you mean by that, brother?" He asked, though his eyes looked chiefly at Bulma, seeing that his sibling wasn't in a position to properly explain himself when it came to conversation nuances. Seeing that Bulma understood, she waved to Goku to stifle himself before going into their madness method.

"As you know, the Dragon Balls were used to help get Goku here faster from the Afterlife. But apart from that, they're rendered useless because Piccolo died, leaving Kami to die and the orbs losing their power," The scientist explained, waving her hands for emphasis to the Saiyan. "But, when Kuririn opened his big fat mouth, we also heard Vegeta say that there should be a planet of Piccolo's people that have their own Dragon Balls; Namek."

"Before you say, 'that's impossible to find on a hunch, grrrr'," Tights impersonated Raditz, cutting him off and getting an enjoyably irked expression from him, she backed her sister up with a hand placed on her hip for further explanation. "We contacted Goku's god-teacher, Kaio. He found us the location of the planet! It's real! And Kami's assistant, Mr. Popo, has us a ship that we're in the middle of refurbishing to make it worthy of interstellar flight!"

"Wait, back up!" Raditz shook his head, unable to move more than his neck without causing himself pain. "So you're going after it? What will happen if Vegeta and the others go there too?"

"Well, unless they know exactly where to go," Bulma mentioned with a dubious gesture. "Our ride is a lot faster. It'll get us there in a couple of months instead of the year or so it took the Saiyans to get to us. We can get in and out way before they arrive."

"There's a lot of presumptions attached that make me a bit too uncomfortable with this plan," Raditz sneered. "No offense, but without your Earthling warriors, the Nameccian and us being stuck in this room, you're going to lack a lot of muscle for that trip."

"Actually," She countered with a raised finger, grinning pridefully at this. "We managed to salvage Son's old ship when he crashed here as a kid. My father's already busy working on reverse engineering it for a far faster flight than Piccolo's old fossil of a vessel. He estimates that by the time we arrive at Namek, the ship will be operational and you two will more than likely be back on your feet at the very least."

"Tch, this seems like a drastic plan to simply reverse the deaths that's transpired here," He murmured, looking away so Bulma wouldn't see the look his eyes had when he said that. Tights, however, got to see his downcast expression turn motivated as his voice grumbled out. "But, if this is the only path left to keep ahead of Vegeta and his partners, I guess I got no choice."

"Just leave it to us!" Bulma proclaimed with a proud pat over her heart with her right palm. "I'll go personally to make sure we get those balls and wish everyone back to life!"

"Who is going?" Raditz questioned with a wary glance between the sisters.

"Well," Tights proffered, looking to the side as she began extending fingers to sound out everyone she can think of. "Bulma's the only one who knows how to pilot the Nameccian spaceship, so she's obviously going. Kuririn wasn't that banged up so he's eager to help out any way he can. Jaco and I are coming, cause why not? Pan's actually recovered pretty quick so she wants to meet all of her uncle's family. And Chi-Chi."

"Who?"

"Princess of Frypan Mountain. Bitch with an attitude and an obsession with my husband," Bulma snorted, her eyes twitching angrily and closed. "She insists on coming along so Son can owe her a favor. What kind of favor is beyond my comprehension but I'm not taking my eyes off her."

Raditz only remembered her due to someone holding the prince's attention while he received, contained and then used the Genki-Dama. He vaguely remembered the outline of a bloodied woman who had held Vegeta down to keep him from avoiding the final strike. Apart from that, the description just made the older Saiyan groan with annoyance; another woman with a temper, just what he needed!

"Just make sure you finish building that second ship quickly," He resigned himself with a lean against the medical cushion behind his head. "This plan is foolishly concocted and there's too many assumptions made for my liking. Even with the dwarf's considerable skill and Pan's potential, adding that woman into the equation and whatever that Patrolman's help can offer may not be enough."

"I don't know about my sister, but I have a few ideas on how to make a squishy Earthling like myself useful in case things go south," Bulma explained, winking at Raditz and nodding to her sister. "Just trust me, I got this whole plan on lock down."

"What's needing locked?" Goku asked with a turn of his head.

"Idiot! It's an idiom!" Raditz corrected his brother, even if he didn't understand the entire point of the word play.

"But she doesn't look like an idiot-"

"DAMMIT, KAKARROT!"

Laughter echoed between the pair of women, bringing Raditz that disconcerting warmth he remembered from his dream. His face burned and his brother chuckled goofily along. Sighing, he decided to let fate take over from this point. If he was doomed to die, he wouldn't have awakened after a week and stayed on the ground where he lied. If this was the path to survival and fortune that led him, he cautiously took this as a sign of better things to come.

"I hope my instincts are wrong," He thought to himself as his eyes looking worried at Tights, much to her ignorance, as he remembered the final time he saw such a warm person close to him vanish before he could do anything. "Don't get reckless, Tights. Survive, until I come for you."

Mount Frypan, Gyūmaō's Castle, Training Room

The events of the Saiyan Invasion had finally settled down. With Chi-Chi's injuries being relatively light compared to the likes of that Son Gokū, she hadn't a need to stay at the hospital with any of them. And this was all just as well. The Princess of Mount Frypan didn't know if she could stand to be in building with Son Gokū and his happy family. Miraculously, the few injuries she'd sustained had healed properly without medical care in about three days; she'd always been a fast healer, like some sort of magic.

So here she stood in the middle of her father's own personal training chamber — which had become her's many years ago — and the girl adopted a stance. She was surrounded at each of the four cardinal directions by what many Earthlings would classify as 'ogres' if they saw them, and this wouldn't be far off. The four creatures were demons that her father had imprisoned in the castle decades ago, when he was still feared throughout the land as Gyūmaō of Mount Frypan. With varying skin tones of onyx, blood-red, ivory, and deep green, these entities were her sparring partners.

Her thin fingers curled back, the young woman bending at the knee; her body brimmed with preparation for the coming battle. She'd demanded — quite forcefully — that Bulma allow her to come with them to this planet 'Namek'. Leaving one's planet to go to another would be a difficult decision for most people, but Chi-Chi found that being left at the altar, such as it was, was more than enough motivation to twist herself back into Son Gokū's good graces somehow. Therefore, it was almost the most ridiculous kind of irony that Bulma was staunch on refusing, but it was Son Gokū who argued her case.

"We don't really have a lotta manpower...besides, the more the merrier, right?"

"What's he playing at?" Chi-Chi muttered, legitimately bewildered by the man's naïveté. "I'm helping so he has to owe me..arguing for my sake, is he trying to even the score already? No...he can't be that clever." With her thoughts clouded, Chi-Chi nearly failed to notice when the demons began to rush her. Their roars of battle were what shook her out of her trance. The next moments were quick, yet brutal. It was a lone woman against four demons, the lot of them terrifying to behold and — as unwilling partners in this spar — craving more than simply a good match. Chi-Chi's movements were smooth; as limber as she proved to be, the woman wove around each blow akin to a leaf in the wind, using her slim figure against their bulky forms to her advantage.

With this deft dodge, the demons struck themselves, drawing first blood, but not against Chi-Chi. The female martial artist, have made a downward duck, placed both hands onto the ground, hoisting herself into a handstand. Rotating like a top, she unleashed a powerful upside-down rotating straddle split, a barrage of kicks striking each and every demon multiple times over. Flipping back onto her feet, she grabbed the skull of one of the stunned demons, and using them as a blunt weapon, threw the beast into one of his comrades, sending them both crashing into a nearby brick wall. Turning her attention to the remaining two, who lunged again, Chi-Chi continued to prove her skill in fighting multiple opponents, and deflected the blow of the incoming left demon, all the while striking the demon on the right in the chest, knocking him unconscious. In a brutal finish, Chi-Chi's fist crashed into the gut of the demon on the left, and when the creature fell to his knees in a stagger, she indented him into the floor with a sledgehammer to the base of the neck, finishing him off.

Breathing heavily, the woman wiped the slightest bit of sweat from her brow. She used to find these demons challenging, but now they weren't even close to her strength-level. Regardless, it proved efficient.

"I guess I'm ready to crash their party."

Capsule Corporation, Outside the Brief Laboratory

The preparations for the trip to Namek weren't being handled by merely the people making the trip. Dr. Brief, renowned as the most intelligent man alive on Planet Earth, was making his fair contributions to the coming journey by refurbishing the Nameccian spaceship that his daughters and their friends would be taking to alien planet. The Nameccian ship was made of a unique material that could not be found on Earth, yet Brief found that it hadn't been entirely impossible to replicate. The man diverted all of his resources into recreating what he now referred to as Muskium, the unique metal that the Nameccian spaceship was constructed from, and utilised this metal when expanding the spaceship.

Standing atop a ladder, the man was adding his final touches to the exterior shell of the ship, when footfalls caught his attention.

"Dad!" The voice of his eldest daughter, Tights, rang through the otherwise empty laboratory. "You in here?"

"Over here!" Brief called out. The blonde haired woman — so identical to her mother — casually waltzed over towards the ship, giving it a once over as her father continued his work. "What are you doin' here, Tights? Aren't you still at the hospital with the your sister and the boys?"

Tights shook her head. "Everyone needs a little breathing room if Raditz and Gokū are going to make a full recovery. We're not expecting this trip to go off without a hitch, after all. Speaking of which," she ran her hand over the ship, amazed by just how unique it felt to the touch. It wasn't metal, but it wasn't stone either. Even Jaco's spaceship was made of an obvious kind of metallic material. "How are the adjustments to the ship?"

Dr. Brief clambered down the ladder, stretching out his back. "I'll show you what I've done to the inside of this baby." The two walked underneath the alien spaceship, and Dr. Brief uttered a single word to open the ship's bottom hatch: "Piccolo." The circular hatch levitated downwards, allowing the father and daughter to clamber onto it. Following the word's utterance a second time, the platform rose to fit neatly back into the ship. Tights found herself staring into the down a singular hallway of the Nameccian Spaceship in amazement.

"Wow..." The blonde woman breathed. "It's...well, I expected more." Her feet touched the tiled red floor, and this was perhaps the only colour that stood out from the otherwise dis-interesting off-white of the walls. It seemed empty, all things considered. Tights could see well towards the helm of the ship, where the pilots seat was located; the cockpit seemed to be the only room, and it was simply there. Walking over towards the chair, she saw it was made out of the same material at the exterior of the ship.

"That's voice activated, same as the entrance to the ship," explained Dr. Brief. "It responds to the same activation word as the opening hatch as well." He gestured to an arched monitor resting in front of the chair. "I'm still not sure what power source this craft runs on, but whatever it is, I haven't had to replenish it. This has been working for years, it seems, as the spaceship was meant to double as living quarters on a foreign planet."

"This cramped place, Dad?"

"You think it's cramped?" inquired Dr. Brief. He spoke aloud a word in Nameccian, and a huge portion of hallway folded itself backwards, revealing exactly what Dr. Brief had stated: living quarters. It was a simple rec room, but more than enough to actually keep a small group of people entertained for a month. There were sofas, a refrigerator off to a corner, and a monitor that hung from the ceiling. A bookshelf could be found near the far right of the room, and Tights knew she'd found her little corner.

"'I've tied each room to a specific voice command in Nameccian — the darn ship still won't respond to anything else, no matter how much I try to hard wire it to our language." explained Brief. "That black fellow that found this ship taught Bulma and I enough Nameccian to operate it."

"Dad!" interjected Tights indignantly.

"What?!" replied Dr. Brief. "I don't exactly have another descriptor. Anyway, this room isn't the only one. I've installed five bedrooms, a washroom, and the toilet — there was actually one pre-built, so I built around it — is located near the opening hatch."

Tights counted off the number of people actually making the trip, and counting six in total, when including herself. "Dad, aren't you missing a bedroom? Since we're dragging Jaco along by the skin of his teeth, there's going to be six of us."

Dr. Brief shook his head. "I built Bulma's room as a joint room with Pan. I figured it'd save space and make the trip easier for the both of them."

The older of the Brief's daughters took in a deep breath. She'd made several trips off-planet before, yet each time, this was more or less a scouting trip with Jaco. She was a science fiction writer by trade, and had seen dozens of planets, using each and every one of them to make incredibly believable novels. However, none of her forays into outer space had carried the kind of weight this trip did. She didn't know Bulma's friends personally, but the fact remained that this trip had a purpose far beyond trying to pen that next bestseller; people had lost lives and they had a way to repair the damage.

"No pressure, eh?" she muttered to herself. Her father walked over towards her, and placed a hand on her upper arm — the highest he could reach, given her height in comparison to his — smiling. "I know this isn't your first rodeo, but Bulma is the impulsive kind. She's your younger sister, so do your mother and I a favour and watch out for her. Pan as well. She may be half-alien, but she's still half-Earthling. There's bound to be some tenderness in that little girl's temperament that isn't cut out for a trip like this."

Tights felt a simultaneous release of anxiety and weight of her father's expectations settle in. But the woman smiled anyway, with the resolve to give it her best. "Don't worry, Dad. We'll make it back in one piece."

Eastern Capital, Orin Temple Ruins

Life is a journey.
Death is a return to earth.

Standing near the wreckage of what used to be the Orin Temple was Kuririn. It had been a little over a week since the debacle with the Saiyans, and while his best friend was recovering in the hospital, Kuririn couldn't be there. The former monk had been attending to other obligations since then, and found himself attending the ruins of his former home.

The universe is like an inn.
The passing years are like dust.

While Kuririn had been bullied as a boy when he was training to be a monk in the Orin Temple, it didn't change the fact that he was still raised here. The destruction of this city — of his former home — had struck a chord with his heart.

Regard this phantom world
As a star at dawn, a bubble in a stream,

He had busied himself, as such, attending to the burial and last rites of the fallen monks at Orin Temple. Kuririn now stood before the graveyard, formerly the Temple itself, dressed in modest white clothing, the monk-turned-martial artist knelt at the graves of his former companions. He had laid out offerings to the deceased, and was still in the process of paying his respects. While he hadn't been officially corinated, due to fleeing the Temple when he was young to instead see the guidance of Muten Rōshi, Kuririn had performed the last rites, and now stood before the deceased, contemplating the impermanence of life.

A flash of lightning in a summer cloud,
A flickering lamp – a phantom – and a dream.

Kuririn could only imagine death, even here at the precipice of it. "I've only died once...and I couldn't even pass on." The incident with Tambourine was still something that chilled Kuririn to the marrow of his bones. It was a sneak attack of the cruelest kind that had resulted in Kuririn's untimely death. But he'd never made it to an afterlife. His soul wandered in a perpetual Limbo that caused intense pain and anguish. He couldn't pass on. He was denied even the reincarnation his faith preached.

With a heavy sigh, the former monk stood to his — admittedly unimpressive — full height, and felt a hand rest on his shoulder. Standing at his side was Kashiko, wearing similarly modest white clothing. Her brown hair was tied into a bun, with stands framing her face. Her bright eyes peered through her glasses, and in spite of wanting to be supportive, Kashiko could not bring herself to put on a brave face for Kuririn. The most she could do is stand by his side.

At the moment, Kashiko was one of the few people who knew what Kuririn's experience with death had been like. He'd told some of his friends when they asked, but it was a bitter, horrifying experience that Kuririn did not much enjoy discussing. Even Gokū didn't know — Kuririn hadn't had the time to speak to Gokū until the Tenkaichi Budōkai that followed his revival. It had been a therapeutic session following the first night Kashiko and Kuririn had slept in the same bed, when the latter awoke from a harrowing nightmare. Taking a breath, Kuririn steadied himself, and placed his own hand onto her's.

"You know...anyone else might say this lot had it coming," muttered Kuririn. "I was never treated positively while I was here. My former fellows had a penchant for bullying the odd one in the group, and I just happened to be that nail that stuck out." It was bitter, and cold, to say something like this in the wake of the passing of another. Kuririn knew this, and it wasn't without guilt that he spoke ill of his fallen comrades right now. "I was scared of them, but I didn't bear them any ill will...but they showed their sour attitude to you, when you were just looking around. Yet..." The bald monk's face set into a perplexed frown. "If they hadn't treated me the way they did, I wouldn't have become the martial artist I am today. Once we fix the damage with our Dragon Balls, I'll have to give everyone a proper thank you...and make them apologise for being rude to you."

"There isn't a need to go through those lengths for me," Kashiko assured him. "There's no reason to leave them for dead if we can do anything about it, so just reviving them is enough. Besides, no matter how they treated you, they still took you in when you were younger, didn't they? I'm grateful to them just for that."

Kuririn chuckled. Her pure disposition, if anything, was what made their treatment of her even slightly bearable. "Well, I'm going to have words for them regardless, quite a few things to say, whether they wanna hear it or not." He reached up to grab the hand that was resting on his shoulder, and gripped it tightly. Within that clutch was an unspoken promise to a desire Kashiko couldn't voice.

The trip to Namek wasn't going to be easy. But Kuririn would come back for her.

Western Capital, Capsule Corporation, Outside

It had taken well into a fortnight, but the good Dr. Brief had managed to completely improve and overhaul the Nameccian spaceship. The final and most important installation was to made it Capsule-compatible; the moment Bulma and co. made it to Namek, the plan was to capulise the ship once the planet had been determined hospitable to human life. It was a bit of forward thinking on Bulma's part, as she wasn't even comfortable leaving a hovercar parked anywhere without simply capsulising the vehicle. The Nameccian spaceship, fully retrofitted, was gleaming in the sunlight as it stood tall outside of the Capsule Corporation.

Landing neatly on the grassy lawn next to the pavement, Kuririn gave a whistle in the presence of the ship. He was dressed casually, in jeans and a jacket, with a hat that read his name in bold: KURIRIN. "Talk about a bigg'un, eh? I've never seen a real spaceship up close, but somehow, I was thinking something...longer."

"You're thinking of the older models, Kuririn," Bulma walked over from behind the ship, having given it a final once over. Her hair was completely combed over, resembling the shorter cut that her older sister sported, merely lavender in hue. Her outfit was a shortened version of a trenchoat, worn over black tights and tall, thick boots, laced to the top. The trenchoat was tied by a white belt, and similar to the Combat Jacket that Raditz had arrived on earth in, Bulma had crafted pauldrons, but much smaller, made to fit her shoulders. Pan was standing at her knee, wearing the same gi she'd worn during the Saiyan invasion. Bulma grinned. "Dad was working on a new model of spacecraft about ten years ago...but I think these alien ships might be just what he's looking for."

"That aside, I expected you to show up in some sort of bulky spacesuit," Kuririn chuckled. "You're that type of person."

Bulma flushed slightly. "I was going to," she admitted with a hint of shame. "But...well, Tights pointed out it was over-preparation...and even Jaco started poking fun at me, so I burned it."

"Mama did look funny," said Pan, giggling. "She looked like that biscuit mascot."

"Sweetie, not you too," groaned Bulma, burying her face in her hands. She was considering blasting Kuririn out of the airlock for even bringing this up.

Pan ran over to Kuririn, her tail wagging excitedly. "We're going into space, Kuririn! You're going to come with us, aren't you?"

"Yeah," replied the bald monk. "I can't say the thought excites me, but I have people I wouldn't be able to look in the eye if I didn't make this trip. But what about you? You don't look nervous at all!"

Pan tightened the white headband across her head, her expression set, determined even. "Mr. Piccolo did a lot for me, training me with Uncle Raditz. He may have been bad once, but he died protecting me, so Uncle Raditz could pull me to safety. I can't just leave him." Her tail, formerly wagging in excitement, was now flicking out, conveying her distress.

Kuririn smiled. "You're determined for a little squirt," He said, but before he could say anything further, the roar of an engine caught the attention of the group at large. They cast their gazes towards the sky, to see Jaco's Galactic Patrol spaceship making the bumpiest of landings outside the Capsule Corporation. The hatch opened with a hiss; to the group's surprise, Jaco the Galactic Patrolman was sent flying out of his own ship. This was followed by Tights, who stood tall in the cramped cruiser, stretching.

"Morning, family and friends!" She said, grinning. "I caught this one trying to duck out. I figured he would, so I decided pay extra close attention to his ship just in case."

The mishandled galactic patrolman rubbed his rear as he stood up, pointing his finger angrily in Tights' direction. "I told you, I have no intention of making a trip like this with you all. I've been of the opinion that living is the best condition to be in, and after that Saiyan massacre, I can firmly attest that death follows you all wherever you go!"

Rubbing her finger under her nose with a snicker, Tights grinned. "How can a cop like you be such a coward? Aren't you supposed be the Galactic Patrol elite?" Clambering down, Tights grabbed him by his collar, despite his protests ("Let go of me, I said I'm not going! Tights, are you even listening?!"), dragging him towards the hatch of the ship. "Everyone, I'm going to drag him onto the ship, so feel free to meet me in there! Let's do this!"

Bulma, Kuririn, and Pan watched Tights drag Jaco onto the ship, the hatch opening with an utterance of "Piccolo!" from the eldest of Brief's children, with a measure of amazement for Tights' patience, and pity for Jaco's plight. Sighing in mixed amusement, Bulma performed a quick head-count, finding herself, Kuririn, her daughter, sister, and Jaco were all present. "Aren't we missing someone? Chi-Chi isn't here."

The clearing of a throat quickly informed Bulma that she was wrong. Capsule Corporation had a large oak tree that stood tall in the yard, and the sound came from the trunk of this tree. Chi-Chi was standing against the tree, holding a duffel bag over her shoulders. The woman wore a large overcoat over her clothing, hiding her figure, and making it look like she was about to catch a plane rather than a spaceship. "I'm here. I just didn't feel like joining in that...strange initial ritual for the alien. I'm not here to be your friend."

Breathing deeply, Bulma composed herself. She wasn't here to argue with Chi-Chi, but it was plainly clear that neither one of them were going to get along. Her eyes glanced at her daughter, who was inquisitively questioning Chi-Chi's attitude in a wide-eyed gaze, and decided she would set a good example for her little, walking victory. "Alright, everyone is here! My Dad went all out to retrofit this ship. There's a few finer points I'll address once we get into the ship, but the important thing is that we all try to get along!" She glanced directly at Chi-Chi, who replied with a sour but silent stare of her own.

"Let's go to Namek!"

Kuririn and Pan echoed her battle cry.

It was the time of departure.

Planet Freeza 88, Medical Chamber

The planet was rocky and barren. Vegeta had been assigned to this world, alongside Raditz, Nappa, and two other Saiyans, to do the job Saiyans were conscripted for. The Prince sat among the ruins of the defeated, devouring the strange fruit of this planet. It wasn't meat, and therefore, he couldn't say that he thoroughly enjoyed it, but any food after a raid was pleasing to the palate. They had been told this job was going to be difficult, and therefore, a team of five Saiyans would be recommend. The promising young prince, his right-hand, Nappa, current partner, Raditz, and two other Saiyans who had made a name for themselves as combatants.

Vegeta bit into the fruit again in irritation. This battle hadn't been enough for the boy to even get a workout. Raditz was significantly for scuffed than he was, and he was merely more irate than wounded. Vegeta's sour mood, however, was shortly about to become worse. One of the other Saiyans rushed over to him, looking frantic. Taking a knee before the Prince, the Saiyan uttered words that no one had expected to hear.

"P-Prince Vegeta! We just received word through the Scouters...planet Vegeta has been completely destroyed by a meteor impact." The man looked shaken, and the regret in his voice was clear. "Most of the Saiyans had returned home, following the direct order! Our species...is now virtually extinct."

Taking another disgruntled bite of the fruit, Vegeta's expression became bitter. "The planet has been destroyed by a meteor collision?" He repeated.

"We're lucky," said Raditz. "We deliberately ignored the order to return, didn't we?"

"Didn't you both have younger brothers?" inquired Nappa. "Did they go out with the planet?"

"Father exiled Tarble shortly after we evaluated his combat strength and realised he was ill-suited for fighting," explained Vegeta. "I don't know what planet he's on now."

"Come to think of it, I got a message from Mom earlier," Raditz noted, pointing to his Scouter. "She said they sent Kakarrot off to space in one of our pods. Off to some nowhere planet called 'Earth'."

Ignoring the continued ramblings of his comrades in arms, Vegeta was left to dwell on the fact that his entire species, his parents, had been suddenly destroyed. Standing up, the young Saiyan looked towards the sky, folding his arms. "I guess I'll never be 'King Vegeta' now."

In the present, Vegeta's eyes shot open, and he found himself floating in liquid. A breathing apparatus had been fitted over his mouth, and the dark blue hue of the fluid made it difficult to discern the exterior of his location. His memory had been hazy, and dwelling on old memories during his slumber had not helped. But it was clear where he was, now that he had a moment to gain some clarity. After retreating from Earth, the prince had crashed onto Planet Freeza 88, and been immediately taken in for medical attention.

With his condition stabilised, the Saiyan Prince felt the liquid begin to drain, a hatch opening in the medical machine, allowing him to clamber outwards. Bare as the day he was born, the Saiyan prince found his trappings resting neatly outside the medical machine, and was quick to don the new Combat Jacket set provided by the Freeza army. The undersuit was a dark purple, nearly black in colour, and the armored portions worn over it consisted of purple pauldrons and deep blue breastplates. The crotch and hip-guards were a matching purple hue, though the gloves retained their former white colour. Pulling on the gloves last, the Saiyan picked up a Scouter — newly supplied and pale blue — and fastened it to his ear, the strange adhesive that kept it in place latching on immediately.

Exiting an automatic door, Vegeta found two very familiar faces standing just around the next turn. The first was Nappa, who himself had donned an new Combat Jacket — similar to his old model, but with dark brown pauldrons, a black breastplate, along with boots, arm-bands, and crotchguards that matched the upper portion of the jacket. His Scouter was a deep dark blue. Aspara had donned new attire as well; her Combat Jacket's pauldrons were a rouge so dark it was nearly black, outlined in pink with a gray breastplate. Her boots were of matching colour and design, and she forewent the gloves now, donning two black armbands with pink threading nearing the edges. Guards framed her hips, and were of the same colour as the Combat Jacket's torso. Where there had been black shorts before, they were now gray, like the breastplate. Her Scouter — bright red — gleamed in the artificial light of the ship.

"Well if this isn't a surprise," Vegeta regarded them quickly and offhandedly. "The two of you made it back, and in one piece no less."

Aspara's face contorted something fierce, taking what was the most beautiful face in the entire army — contested by perhaps one individual, not that Aspara cared — into a mask of unsightly indignation. "How stupid do you think I am, Prince?" She stressed the last word, venom coating her tone. "That entire operation on Earth was a complete fiasco, and when things didn't go your way, you tried to dispose of us like trash out of the airlock!" A vein was throbbing in her head, her narrow eyes burning with deserved anger. "You don't know how lucky you are that your devoted little pet made it here before I did! If he'd been even a second later, I'd have blown you out of that medical machine!"

While this show would have intimidated most men, Vegeta was barely fazed. If the army paid him for how many times Aspara had given him an attitude, he would be able to finance a new fleet and then some. Shrugging it off easily, Vegeta's reply was brisk and to the point.

"Did you reach the finer points of your tantrum? If you managed to survive all of that and make it back here, that means you're still of use to me. You should be celebrating."

"W-Why you—!" Her tail standing erect in rage, fur bristling, the Saiyan woman had reached the end of what was already a very short tether. Aspara didn't bother adopting a stance, she merely rushed him. Her newfound speed and power — gifts from the utter mess that was their visit to Earth — caused her ki to shake the very hall they were in, wires and tubes bursting apart. Electricity crackled as liquid splattered, and Aspara ignored it all. Her claws quite literally bared, she lunged towards Vegeta...

...only to be stopped when a gigantic hand closed around her wrist. Eyes widened, Aspara saw Nappa standing at her side, a vicegrip placed on her. With great force, the Saiyan general launched Aspara across the hall, indenting the nearest wall as she collapsed into a crumpled heap. "Watch yourself, Aspara!" Nappa bellows out, his voice thundering the hall and further startling the distant personnel of the station. "The Prince has graciously welcomed you back into the fold. You're one of us again; do not spit on an outstretched hand, less it beats you!"

This action earned a satisfied grin from Vegeta. Nappa had made a wise choice; if Aspara had made it any closer, he would simply have blown her to pieces. Nappa turned towards his superior officer, the latter of which was curling his tail around his waist in the makeshift belt that was a habit of the modern Saiyan. "C'mon, Vegeta! Let's go back! We weren't even at full strength, with that bastard missing in action! But we've become stronger after recovering! Kakarrot and Raditz should still be recovering. Let's wipe the whole planet out from orbit!"

"Forget about him," replied Vegeta, referring to their missing officer. "He'll be back. He always ducks out but returns later, usually with some spoils of war. It's the only reason I let him play hooky like he does," The Saiyan prince shook his head. "But our concern isn't Earth. We learned a vital piece of information from the bald midget, didn't we? The Dragon Balls, that brought Kakarrot to the planet when the sky turned dark. They exist on another planet: Namek. Why waste our time with Earth now?" He raised a hand pointedly, a gloved finger wagging like a parent scolding a child. "I want to confirm the magic of the Dragon Balls with my own eyes...then, and only then, will we make ourselves immortal! With an eternity in our grasp, we'll have all the time in the world to make Kakarrot and Raditz pay — piece by painful piece."

"That's brilliant, Vegeta!" To Nappa, his faith in his prince had been restored with this spiel of information. It was hard to say it hadn't dwindled after the Earth debacle, but he'd been loyal to Vegeta for years. This merely confirmed, in his mind, that his suspicions weren't misplaced.

"As if you'd expect less," replied the Prince. "Even you, Aspara, can become immortal...provided you play nice."

The Saiyan woman scoffed, but didn't put up further resistance. The idea of Vegeta being immortal made her want to wretch, but immortality for herself sounded plenty fine. I'll play along for now...Vegeta. But don't think for a second that the moment I have a chance to kill you, I'll pass it up. Lord over us while you can...

Turning on the receiver of his Scouter, Vegeta contacted one of the non-combatant soliders in charge of the pod dock. "This is Prince Vegeta. Ready three pods for immediate departure; set the coordinates for planet Namek."

"V-Vegeta, sir! I'm glad to hear you're awake! Um...Namek, you said? T-That's a strange coincidence...Lord Freeza departed for Namek not too long ago!"

"WHAT?!" Vegeta's bellow, loud and fierce, felt as if it would rip through his own throat. Freeza, the Freeza, was already on his way towards Namek? "He must have heard about the Dragon Balls through our Scouters! Damn it! Listen, you! Ready those pods NOW!" Turning to his comrades, his face was wild, manic even. "Nappa! Aspara! We're heading to Namek this instant! We will not let Freeza steal those Dragon Balls from us!"

As if the hand of God were turning the tides of fate, planet Namek had been designated as the battleground that would shake the galaxy.

The Dragon Team and their assorted allies.

The nefarious Freeza Force and its enigmatic leader.

Vegeta and his Saiyan troop.

Three groups were head to Namek for the sake of one purpose: the Dragon Balls.

A/N:

Demod20: This was probably the longest section I've written where it hasn't changed into another scene. Apart from an admittedly improvised flashback via dream sequence involving Raditz and Gine (mirrored later by Vegeta's dream sequence when he was in the healing tank my co-author wrote), this was really just character development for the cast and explanation on what the next stage of the story was concerned, catching Raditz and the audience up. Not the most exciting thing, but my co-author made up for it by divvying up the POV from Chi-Chi, Tights w/ Dr. Brief, to the crew about to launch off and finally our beloved Saiyan trio heading to the same destination: Namek. Looking forward to 2019 as the start of the Namek Arc! I wonder on what note we'll cliffhang by December of next year?

LastationLover5000: Oh boy, did this take FOREVER. Our idea was to get this out in November, I believe, but then, well, Pokemon Let's Go Pikachu happened. Yeah, I was a little too busy playing a game to focus on writing a story, but what can you do, sometimes, people get distracted. Sorry about all that, but we're here now! This was fun to write. I had moments where I was a bit lazy, but then my interest was reignited like a blazing flame, none more-so than Vegeta's section, of which was my favorite to write. My co-author handled the set-up for this pretty well though, managing to skip a lot of established canon so we wouldn't repeat what you have already seen, while giving Raditz more of that much needed characterisation. Right now, Chi-Chi, Raditz, and Aspara may be the most interesting characters in the story, at least I see it as such. But now we're moving towards Namek. How will events play out? Who is this mysterious ally that Vegeta and company have? You'll have to find out in February!

P.S.: Our editor, Firegod00, is out of commission due to needs of sleep, and will resume his editing some-time after this chapter is posted. Please excuse any errors during that time.