Dragon Ball - Heart of Adventurers

by LastationLover5000

On a fated day, Goku chose not to fulfill a promise he had no grasp of making or what it meant. Since then, a powerful bond begins to be made aware to himself and his childhood friend, Bulma. With an uncertain future opened before them, what will become of their friends, enemies and those surrounding them? Find out, in Heart of the Adventurers!

30. Restraint and Wrath

Dragon Ball - The Heart of Adventurers
Chapter 30 - Restraint and Wrath
Written by LastationLover5000 and Demod20, Edited by Firegod00

---

It was in an instant that Son Gokū found himself locking horns with someone considerably more capable. The first blow had him feeling a throbbing sensation of pain along his jaw as the captain of the squad lanced his elbow into his turned face. Despite the initial surprise, the man grinned past the inkling of stabbing needles in his mouth and twisted around to lob his heel around to the back of his horned adversary's skull.

Eyes bulging, the purple skinned man found himself sprawling in the air, head over heels. In one of his physical revolutions in the air, he saw Gokū twist his upper body around and throw his palm out, firing a kikoha straight at his exposed person. To the Saiyan's surprise, he halted in mid-body-spin and expertly deflected it while being perpindicular from the feet pointed to the angular haired Turtle Schooler.

"Not bad," The Squadron Commander replied, lifting himself upright with arms folded over his chest, maintaining altitude as he chuckled at Son Gokū's half-leaning levitated posture. "I really felt that one. And so quick after I caught you off guard, too. This might end up being more entertaining than I imagined."

"You're not half bad either," Gokū replied, landing himself back on the ground with a pair of taps. "I was a bit disappointed by Juice and the other guy, but you seem to be in a different league than them. Can't help but be a little excited."

"Your Saiyan blood pumping now? As I'd expect of your warrior race," Ginyū chuckled, shrugging as he appraised Gokū's person more informally. "But I can't judge; I too have a love of the clash of fists."

Gokū settled himself down into a stance, sliding his left bent knee forward while pointing his upper body in conjunction to it. Raising a mostly closed fist, with a pair of fingers jutting it into hooks, his back hand held aloft with the palm facing behind him, his right knee squatting by his side.

The wind rushed past his black hair, rustling his gi, and sending a slew of bluish grass sailing by the soles of his feet while caressing the banks of the lake surrounding them. In the backdrop of the pair of elite warriors, was another scuffle taking place. Flashes of light and balls of fire erupted not too distantly from them. In the periphery of their gaze they'd see Jheese, holding up a pair of spinning scarlet lit spheres, leaping away from a black-maned blur that raced towards him.

"Ya won't get past me, filthy monkey!" The white-haired, crimson skinned elite fighter snarled.

"Past you? Jheese, I'm circling around you," Raditz commented, grinning wryly as he kept his arms at his sides as he chased the man across the Nameccian landscape. "You've just yet to realize it."

"PISS OFF!" The crimson fireball roared out, launching one of his trademark Crusher Balls at the man's face. In a split second, the physical form disappeared, leaving a fading static impression that warped around the spiraling ball of destruction that whistled through the air and crashed into a distant island with a dramatic explosion. In the brief overcast of reddish-white light, Jheese twisted around to lob it as his Scouter bleeped in accordance to his reappearance.

Then it began to erratically ping as Raditz began to not just be at one place, but multiple ones. Yes, before Jheese's widened eyes and slackened jaw he'd watch the elder brother of Gokū dart around, producing dozens of Afterimages in his wake, all with a smug countenance of a smirk and arms crossed across his chest. They all spoke in conjunction, casting an eerie redundant timbre across the air.

"What's wrong, Jheese?"

"Can't keep up with me?"

"Why not check the Scouter?"

"I'm sure its just the machine and not you!"

"HRRRRRRR!" The tomato skin of Jheese turned darker red than one could imagine. Veins throbbed around his brow and jaw-line, his ki of crimson overlapped and became a brilliant revolving fire. When he dissipated his remaining Crusher Ball, he himself had transformed into a physical matter of his own prized technique. Launching himself with a shrieking quickness he thrust a fist through one copy, then kicked another, splintering the earth and cracking the air with each scarlet streaked movement.

"Behind you!"

A voice announced itself behind the Ginyū Squadmate, followed by a trunk-sized leg crashing into his energy-embroiled back with a loud crack. Bowing with the blow, Jheese found his breath escaping his lungs and his vision threatening to darken.

Just as he struggled to flail his arms around to steady himself he'd watch as the massive biceps of his opponent materialized in front of his face.

A loud crack like a lightning touching the earth rebounded from his skull, snuffing out the flame of his energy entirely from the lariat's connection. It'd send him crashing the opposite way to skid across the ground with an explosive crashing impact into the island just opposite of the attacker.

"HAHA, what's wrong?" Raditz coyly questioned aloud, pulling his extended arm back and propping it on his hip where his other hand presided opposite of it. "You were so damn proud before, always lauding your rank whenever we crossed paths. Have the tables have turned this drastically that you haven't an ounce of dignity left?"

A sudden eruption from the crumbled pieces of earth came as an audible rebuttal to Raditz. While debris rained in a shower of smoke and dust, Raditz's hair flapped in the air like a smug flag, his smile deepening as angled eyes fixed on the silhouette rising from where seawater poured into the demolished land mass.

Heaving in place, Jheese's person was revealed, hunched over and breathing with obvious labor. Though he was only struck twice, blood was leaking from his twisted nostrils and oozing out of his mouth where several teeth had vacated from his orifice. But beyond the obvious injuries and the pain he was feeling, he was shaking with visible rage more than anything else.

"Y-You damn primate!" Jheese snarled, his energy rising up in another rolling sweep of light. "How dare a backwater weakling like you make a fool of me!"

"Jheese, I've done nothing but show you a fraction of what I'm capable of," Raditz boasted, his smirk revealing bared teeth as his eyes flashed dangerously. "You're acting the fool all on your own."

"JHEESE!" Ginyū bellowed out, surprising the pair. Amidst their battling they'd see the titular captain of the squadron was hand-locked with Gokū, the pair's arms shaking as they wrestled for physical dominance while pushing the island they stood upon in half from the exertion. "Don't lose your cool! They may have power but they lack your experience! Use that against him!"

"S-Sorry, sir," The white-maned fighter sheepishly lamented.

"Yes, use that experience you've had fighting people far below your class. I'm sure its been invaluable to your career," The Saiyan sibling jeered with a dark laugh.

"Talk while you can, monkey," Jheese growled, raising his hand upwards. "But you won't be so smug when I put a hole in your chest!"

To punctuate his claims a whirring sound revved up a sparking red light into his gloved palm. Twisting about as it expanded in mass, the light set an overcast of blistering crimson as it continued to stretch outwards. Once it achieved its maximum size did it equal the width enough to be as large as its user was; kicking up the wind with its threatening rotations it performed within fractions of a second.

"Get ready for my Super Crusher Ball," He declared with a boisterous holler. "I'm going to pulverize that body of yours into paste!"

Raditz remained silent, ever present with his smirk. As he watched his enemy hoisted his body around, assuming a posture reminiscent of an Earthling pitcher, he'd throw his whole back into tossing the swollen orb towards its target.

Deceptively swift, its shape swerved and streaked into a zigzagging line that maneuvered itself in erratic directions. Black eyes danced across the whites of his eye sockets, homing in on the actual shape of his enemy's technique without moving an inch.

Seeing it juke towards him, he'd throw his arm around and aim to bat it with his large muscular appendage. To his surprise, it looped up over his arm and arched itself to crash over his head, into the earth with a guiding motion of Jheese's not-too-distant gloved hand.

"I GOT YA!" He yelled with triumph, watching the shape of Raditz become swallowed up by his Super Crusher Ball before it'd elastically expand outward in a massive explosion that threw him off his own feet and decimate the island that the pair were battling on. The lake showered into the air as steam and another puncture in the planet's surface became evident as a dark hole with smoke ebbing from it was made manifest.

Breathing heavily, Jheese chuckled neurotically, righting himself in the air and marveling at his handiwork.

"I got ya! The bugger is toast!"

A rasping cough behind him brought his laughter to an immediate halt. Looking over his shoulder, he'd lurch back with horror at the sight of some soot marring Raditz's uniform and a few hairs standing on end; but otherwise looked completely unharmed!

"H-How?! I-I saw you-"

"Yeah, you got me," Raditz hacked, spitting out comical wads of dirt and smoke from his mouth as he dusted himself off. "Dodged the explosion at the last instant, though. Didn't think your Squash Ball was going to be that quick on the curve, but, it makes no difference," He stopped, looking up with an even, icy glare. "Was that your best shot, or do you want to keep going?"

"K-Kek! You-!" Jheese haggardly spat out, feeling his fury give way to bone chilling fear. Sweat poured down his marred face he raised a shaking hand and began to rev up another spiraling sphere of the same proportion, though he looked quite winded from the effort. "Th-That was just a fluke! You won't survive it this time!"

Throwing his Super Crusher Ball, he'd perform another dizzying array of zigzags. This time Raditz didn't attempt to following it with his eyes, simply staring ahead at Jheese's gesturing fingers. Even as the apprehensively attacking squad mate caught sight of his steely coals for eyes watching him attentively, he still tried to maneuver it around to jerk around and hit him from behind in the air.

A loud CLAP! was made as Raditz swung one arm over his shoulder and caught it without batting an eye. The sight of it made Jheese's mouth nearly unhinge, and his Scouter bleeped with sporadically shifting numbers. Taking his rotating ball of light in front of him, the Saiyan impossibly put it between both palms and ground it between flexing fingers hard enough to make it release sputtering sparks and the sound of a deflating balloon.

All while giving Jheese a deadpan stare as it shrunk and sputtered pathetically under his grip.

"N-No-!" He gasped. "I-Impossible!"

"So, I have to ask," Raditz dryly spoke, a bored look crossing his face. "What was super about that ball?"

"C-Captain..." He began to whimper, his eyes watering as his skin turned into a shade lighter red as he paled all over.

Raising up a gauntlet covered hand, a crackling sphere of pink with jagged arcs of yellow energy whistled around the Saiyan's palm. Grinning savagely, he lifted his arm up and then threw the projectile at Jheese's paralyzed person, "Here's a real Super Ball!"

"H-H-H-HEEELLLLLLLLLLLLLL-!"

The scream never fully formed, the energy tearing into him and spreading out like crooked lightning. The howling torrent of energy eviscerated him, tearing through armor like paper mache and boiling his blood straight through his skin. His face elongated horrifically, his body twisting like a pretzel before disintegrating in an oblong blast of raspberry light that detonated loudly in the sky.

Ginyū spun from a fierce fisticuff exchange with Gokū, his mouth agape with both horror and bewilderment at what took place.

"No...Jheese!" He yelled out, causing Gokū to stop his assault and turn to see what his brother did. "All of my men...are dead..."

"Raditz! Why did you have to go and kill him?!" Gokū cried out from his position, ignoring the lament coming from his opponent, showing his own objections to the violent act. "He was already beaten, wasn't he? Why not let him live?"

Savoring the moment a few moments longer, Raditz's dark grin turned sour as he looked over his shoulder down at Gokū and Ginyū, "I thought we had this talk before, little brother. We can't afford sentimentality with enemies like these. What would happen if we let him run to report to Freeza? Or worse, somehow caught up to your woman or daughter?"

Gritting his teeth, Gokū looked away but shook in place. It was a sour taste in his mouth to admit his elder sibling had a point. He'd be putting his loved ones in danger if he ran and decided to do something abhorrent. But still...it seemed like such a waste!

"Speaking of which," Raditz intoned, looking over at the prone body of Burter, miraculously intact despite the violence surrounding it. "I still feel ki coming from him. You spared his life when you struck him, didn't you?"

A cold feeling gripped Son Gokū's spine as he heard Raditz's words. Looking up he'd see him point a curled fingered palm, a swelling yellow light forming within the base of his palm as he aimed it at the inert body of the second to last survivor of the Ginyū Squadron.

A sudden gust of wind left his side, and Gokū blinked as he saw a silhouette rush up behind Raditz, producing a pair of angry burning circles glaring at the Saiyan's back as it swung a knife hand towards his neck. With wide eyes the older Saiyan brother turned around in a blur of his mane, his aiming arm clashing against a purple humanoid limb, releasing a crackling blast of air and tendrils of friction-produced electricity. With his eyes homed in on wide staring eyes, Ginyū's face shown a particular breed of rage the former henchman of Vegeta didn't he'd see.

"Do not disrespect my men further, Saiyan," Ginyū snarled, his arm pressuring against Raditz's with enough tenacity that it produced sparks between their flexing biceps. "And wait your turn! Once I am finished with your brother, I'm coming for you!"

Raditz felt his eyes shimmer, his body throbbing all over from his core. He had to will himself to not lash out at the sudden attack. Restraint kept him from showing off that kind of power when there was still bigger battles to be fought.

As much as he never thought he'd hear himself think it, Ginyū wasn't the one he came here for.

Pulling back, Ginyū shimmered out of view and landed back across from Gokū, his arms at his sides and his smile rearmed on his visage.

"I apologize about that sudden outburst, but I couldn't abide by your brother's actions," The Captain spoke, his eyes narrowing in memory. "Speaking of which, it took me awhile, but I think I remember why you looked so familiar. Your father was Bardock, the elite Saiyan that alone stood against Freeza when he laid waste to your world. The resemblance is quite uncanny."

"I'm not sure anything about that, but Raditz certainly talks a lot about him," Gokū intoned, his eyes stoically locking back onto the horned alien man's. "There's still time to walk away, though. You're quite strong, and you have quite a lot of skill. You even have a heart, to protect your men like that. It'd be a shame if you died here. Why not leave Freeza now and-?"

"ABSOLUTELY NOT!" Ginyū bellowed out, surprising Gokū whom shared owlish blinks of confusion to him. "I am no common thug like Dodoria, nor a lapdog like Zarbon! I am an elite fighter with honor and pride that's served him since his father had retired. I will not be persuaded to abandon my objective, no matter how dire. So like it or not, Kakarrot you cannot stop this fight through words. Only with our fists can we end this."

"I mean, if you want," Gokū scratched his chin, weakly smiling as he did. "But...that speed you just showed. That was your best, wasn't it?"

"Hardly," The horned alien guffawed, scoffing as he crossed his arms over his chest. "But if you want an accurate estimate, I'd say it had over half of my power in that little demonstration."

"Oh, I see," The Turtle Schooler spoke with a 'o' for his mouth. "But, I'm not sure that's good enough. You should probably try harder."

"Why is that?" The strongest soldier of Freeza inquired with a raised, wrinkled brow.

"Because," Gokū leaned his neck to the side in simple explanation. "I'm not even at half strength right now."

Blink.

That's all the Captain of the Ginyū Special Squadron could do. This whole time he had been trading blows, sharing stings of damage, barb each other for weaknesses and testing each other's mettle...and he wasn't even at half his full power?

Shaking his head, he laughed, a bead of sweat showing on his vein pronounced bulbous scalp.

"Nice try," He spoke, his laugh full of mirth as he gestured. "You had me worried there. But, in my personal professional experience, I've felt out your power. You're actually just able to keep up with me because I am allowing it. There's no possible way you have more to give at this level."

"Haha, maybe not ordinarily," Gokū spoke, his grin turning wry and his eyes angling to show a serious side of himself; amplified by the raise of a single finger upward. "But, with the Kaioken, certainly."

"Kaio...can?" The Captain inquired with furrowed flaps of skin making up his brow. "I've...never heard of such a technique!"

"Hehe," Son Gokū dug his elbows into his sides, his hair already rising up as he focused on the energy within him like Kaio instructed. "Let me...show you...what I mean...hngh!"

BLEEP-BLEEP-BLEEP!

Ginyū's eyes widened and he felt himself begin to step back. The air felt hotter and convulsed with a sudden burst of wind from where his opponent stood. The Saiyan's skin turned beet red and veins throbbed over his flesh as a magnificent flame of pure crimson burst up from the ground till it came to full circumference over his torch-raised scalp. His voice let out a feral bellow, and the numbers began to climb, farther and farther, till Ginyū saw them surpass his own maximum power, and then again, and then again even still.

300,000

"T-Three H-Hundred T-Thousand?!" He shrieked, his voice hitting a pitch he normally didn't associate his throat hitting. Sweat poured off his face as he shook heavily in place, his gaping mouth looking at a terrifying black figure within a raging inferno of power. "How can this be?! A Saiyan can't be this strong! Impossible! Inconceivable!"

"You think this is impressive," Gokū spoke through bared teeth, a hint of a smile seen past it. "I can go even higher in short bursts."

"Y-You can do WHAT now?!" Ginyū hollered, his body shivering place, doing its best not to leap away to gain some distance from this freak of nature.

It was at this moment, that the Captain of the Ginyū Special Squadron had remembered. Stories echoed ever since the takeover by Freeza. Beings that were of legendary power that only appeared every one thousand years. They were unrivaled in ferocity and were wrath incarnate. Power born from fury and a vicious thirst for bloodshed, they were the best of the best and the last of them had destroyed itself with its own power consuming him.

"I-It can't be!" Ginyū staggered back, almost looking on with reverence. "The stories were true after all! You're the...the legendary Super Saiyan!"

Raditz, from on high, couldn't help but scoff. He had tasted Gokū's Kaioken firsthand and it was indeed a terrifying thing to experience with his body as the library of knowledge of how it worked. Much like how Earthlings' could alter their battle power, his little brother was taught a way to alter it on a wholly physical level to increase output on every minute detail of their strength. Senses, ki, strength, speed, all of it was amplified with a drawback.

"To think he can casually maintain a third fold multiplier as if its nothing. My brother's body is treating as if this is natural," Raditz thought, his eyes narrowing at the bristling red flare of light that embroiled his sibling. "But why is he hesitating? Surely one blow in that state should render even Ginyū inert?"

"Now do you understand how pointless further fighting is?" The Turtle Schooler spoke, the glare fixed at him with a fiery wisp of white circling his normally black eyes. "You will die if you fight me and it won't mean a thing to Freeza if he's half the things I heard about. Leave this world now and come back to face me once you've gotten stronger!"

While Raditz felt himself bemoan his flesh and blood's naive nature, Ginyū felt himself surprised.

The horned soldier had heard the intricacies of the stories from the king at one point, so he knew of its side effects and what was made of it. While he's never seen one like the rest of the now deceased race, this wasn't what he thought it was.

"I see," Ginyū proclaimed, far calmer than he once was before. Grasping his Scouter, he took it off his head and tossed it to the ground beside him. "You haven't transformed yet. If you had, then this fight would've been over. You're still trying to scare me."

"But even you can see I'm still much stronger than you!" Gokū persisted, maintaining his form despite the discomfort. "Give up and leave!"

"If its strength that's the only thing different between you and I," He spoke eerily low, charging up a swathe of energy around his right hand. "Then I'll have to turn the tables!"

Before Gokū could further rebuke him, Ginyū raised his hand up and then stabbed himself through the chest, straight through his armor. Raditz's eyes opened wide, surprised just as his younger brother was. It was enough that his sibling dropped his technique and looked on with morbid curiosity at Ginyū's now smiling face that began to cough up deep purple ichor that ran assuredly off his hand and out of the gaping hole around his upper torso.

"Wh-Why did you do that to yourself?!" The Turtle Schooler cried out incredulously.

"Oho, but you see...I did do it to you!" He spoke menacingly with a glint of malice shining in his eyes.

"Wait, how do you mean-?"

It happened in an instant before Raditz even thought to voice a warning.

The horned alien raised his hands up, as if posing for something ridiculous, and let out a loud phrase escape his throat.

"CHANGE - NOW!"

A blinding flash of light struck the leaner built Saiyan. A haunting echo of a laugh radiated the metaphysical space between them as the astral forms of themselves became entwined by this strange mystical energy.

When it ended, both pairs of energies Raditz felt were changed somehow. They didn't feel right and he lowered himself down to the ground in an instant, facing both of them with a scowl armed on his face.

"Okay, what the Hell did you do, Ginyū?!" He shouted at the horned monster.

"A-Agh!" The Squadron's leader grimaced, holding onto his wound and barely keeping himself from falling to his knees. "This pain...wait, why do I sound so...weird?"

"No..."

"Oh yes," He heard a chilling tone escape his little brother's lips. Turning around, Raditz looked with wide eyes at Gokū - no, Ginyū - smiling evilly as he raised up his hands and laughed maniacally at his achievement. "This body, I can feel its power! Fantastic! Marvelous, even! With three hundred thousand or greater, I can easily make quick work of you and Vegeta's louts."

"G-Give me back my body!" Gokū spoke through Ginyū's lips, pointing with weak resistance at the man that looked like him now.

"You can't have it back. Its mine now," He smirked smugly, turning to look at Raditz. "Now that you've seen what I can do, are you going to surrender, or shall I kill you? I would much rather avenge my men than let their murderer run free."

It was Ginyū's time to suddenly look on with bewilderment. One moment, Raditz was fixed into a state of frustration and anger. The next, he shifted dramatically to something far more sinister. Teeth bared, a smile stretched from ear to ear while a darkened glare shined from his now glowing eyes.

It was a look that Gokū understood, and he desperately tried to raise his hands, "R-Raditz, don't do it! That's my body-!"

"-that you lost!" He bellowed, the force of his voice sending Ginyū's body staggering backwards till it fell on its backside. Energy began to waft off him, an reddish-coral light tinting it as a yellow swirled across his normally black irises into golden rings of visceral anger. "No more, little brother. You get to sit there and let me fix your mistake. And you will learn to pay the price for you not listening to me and see how a real Saiyan does his work."

Ginyū had darted to his Scouter and placed it onto his face as he started hearing it beep. The numbers that flashed over his face was rising far steadily higher than he anticipated. He swore he saw him get bigger, his body becoming more swollen and cover the Sun behind him to encroach a shadow that covered his much smaller body. Instead of what he was expecting, he saw a silhouette that had Raditz's shape and glaring a pair of golden eyes down at him with a vicious grin armed on his face.

"N-No," He gaped, looking at his now cracking Scouter. "I-It can't be!"

"You picked the wrong brother's body to steal, Ginyū!" Raditz sneered, lifting up a raised fist as he erupted with fiery energy. "Not that I'm going to complain; I got repressed feelings I've been dying to vent on you!"

---

Freeza's Ship, Namek

The sound of flickering, burning fire was music to Tullece's ears. Regardless of how she'd done it, Chi-Chi had slaughtered Freeza's soldiers marvelously, and the destruction she'd caused to the ship — slight, but enough to get minor oil fires started — while exactly the opposite of what he'd asked, had produced a serene quality to accompany the carnage that Tullece had come to enjoy. The slaughter of Freeza's soldiers may have proved unnecessary; after all, if one intends to take over an empire, would it not be best to claim their soldiers?

Should all this go according to plan, I'll have means of producing loyal soldiers and then some, Tullece thought to himself. I have no need for those who would willingly betray Freeza. From inside the ship, the sounds of the outside were muffled, yet Tullece kept a vigilant eye on the seed he planted. When it had entered the ground, the planet quivered. There were many who would have equated that to the planet crying or screaming; to Tullece, however, it was the swansong of something about to become part of a bigger whole. Truth be told, idling his time was not Tullece's way of spending it; however, he was unfamiliar with the growth period of the seed. Or, to be more accurate, it varied by planet, and even more troublesome, by system.

On a planet such as this, rich in nature with very little in the way of advanced civlisation, Tullece bit his thumb, I may be sitting here until Freeza returns. I knew luck would factor into this, but I can only hope those Nameccians are keeping him busy.

THUD!

The noise of a body hitting the ground caught Tullece's sensitive Saiyan ears; he felt them twitch as they responded to the sound several times over. His tail furling loosely around his waist, the Saiyan stood up, making his way outside of the ship. The first thing he noticed was that the rain had finally stopped; perhaps he'd been too engrossed in his own thoughts to pay attention to the furious beating against the ship that had become the most common sound for the past standard half-hour. The seed hadn't needed much rain; what it had gotten would be sufficient.

The second thing that caught Tullece's eye was the pile of bodies — he counted eight in total, perhaps more buried underneath the lot — resting outside in a manner that a feline would present its owner with a fresh kill. He recognised them as the scouts about which he'd warned Chi-Chi. Tullece's immediate next action was to search for Chi-Chi, but he needn't look far. She was descending from the sky, a vivid red aura fading from her body.

"Was this your doing?"

"You warned me against Freeza's scouts," replied Chi-Chi firmly. "So I handled 'em before they made it back to the ship. It wouldn't do for word to get our about what we're doing, would it?" She glanced at the spot where the seed was planted, to the ship, which on the outside appeared undamaged, but she knew she'd done a small number on it inside. "I hardly believe this'd be a proper use of your boss' time or equipment."

"I'm impressed," replied Tullece, sincerity in his tone. "I didn't expect you to take action like that, but it certainly simplifies a few things."

"Thanks for the praise, boss," Chi-Chi replied sardonically. If Tullece noticed, he at least pretended not to. "I know you're waiting on that seed to do somethin', but how long do you expect it to take?"

Tullece's eyes widened in surprise. He hadn't given her anything beyond the vaguest of details when she'd asked questions, so suffice to say that 'shocked' was an understatement when Chi-Chi had let those words slip from her mouth. "I'm impressed. I hadn't told you it was a seed, so the fact that you figured it out amazes me." His mouth thinned, the smile betraying his own amusement. "You're going to make for a fantastic partner, woman."

"Chi-Chi," replied the armor-clad Princess ruefully.

"Pardon?"

"Chi-Chi," she repeated. "You've used my name before, so drop the 'woman'. If you won't call me by name, this isn't going to work."

"Fine, I can acquiesce that much, Chi-Chi," replied Tullece, amused. "But since you've asked, let me see if I can create an example you can understand." Gesturing lazily to where the seed was planted, he continued, "Imagine the seed is yeast, and the planet is akin to an oven. Depending on the quality of the 'heat', the longer it can take for it to take effect," A grim chuckle escaped Tullece, his throat quivering. "Though, unlike bread, when it rises there's nothing that can stop its growth."

"I don't cook," replied Chi-Chi dryly, Tullece's face reminding her of the man who was the reason why she wasn't joyfully preparing an evening meal over a hot stove. "But I suppose I get the gist."

"Good," Tullece nodded. "I assure you, stick with me, and you'll see with your own eyes just what I will have wrought upon this planet. And, at my side, you will profit from it in a way that no one else will."

That just confirms it, Chi-Chi's ebony eyes hovered over the seed's planted location, darting to and from the disturbed soil to Tullece himself. I have to get rid of that seed. But I can't do it while he's watching. So long as this doesn't get more complicated. The last person I need to see is that Veg—

Her thoughts were cut across abruptly, she and Tullece startled to see the arrival of three figures landing softly onto the rain-soaked grass outside Freeza's ship.

"—eta," the black-haired woman finished aloud. Damn it, why is he here!?

"Vegeta," Tullece said pleasantly, though the smile that played on his mouth did not reach his eyes, which remained as cold and unreadable. "I'm rather surprised to see you here..." His eyes swiveled towards his daughter, who flinched instinctively, and he finished the sentence in his thoughts, alive.

"And what is this?" inquired Vegeta, curiously examining Chi-Chi with his eyes. "You're wearing a Combat Jacket typical of Freeza's army; did you switch sides, woman?"

"It means what it looks like," replied Chi-Chi tersely, her eyes meeting Tullece's for only the briefest of seconds. As loathe as she was to admit it, the exchange of information happened between the two without words. Whatever our alliance is, Vegeta is to be no part of it. Vegeta is not to be trusted. She could take this to heart. Chi-Chi's torso stung as a vivid reminder of the fact that Vegeta was not an ally.

"So you're more duplicitous than I expected," observed the Saiyan Prince. "Aspara, Nappa, it looks like we've got ourselves a duo of co-conspirators." At this, Aspara and Nappa reflexively took stances, almost itching for a battle.

"That isn't the case," Chi-Chi said sharply. "I saw a chance, and when I realised it was more beneficial to ally myself with your lot, I did it. Besides..."

"...this is an offer for you, my Prince," Tullece cut in, relieving Chi-Chi of the need to spin a tale on the spot. That was, after all, his talent. "These slaughtered soldiers were to clear the path for you. We've even located the Dragon Balls, and you can use them at your leisure."

"Tullece, you're a lying bastard and you know it!" snarled Nappa. "You just told Vegeta you weren't expecting to see him! Don't go talking circles around us."

Aspara remained silent. She knew that's precisely what her father was doing; if he could use his silver tongue the right way, Vegeta wouldn't kill him or the woman. As much as she ached to do it, part of her simply could not raise a hand to the man. It was an instinctive fear that overpowered her desire to fight, her urge to kill. Aspara was still scared and inwardly, she cursed herself.

Seeing that trying to bluff wasn't working when even Nappa could pierce through such an obvious lie, Tullece himself began to sweat. Even without a Scouter, he could tell that a fully healed prince was far stronger than he was when he had let him run loose days ago. The fact he was here, and none of the Ginyūs in sight, made him contemplate that he might perish if he doesn't choose his words carefully.

"Alright, you got me," Tullece shrugged, adding a humored smile as he bobbed his head nonchalantly. "I didn't do it for you. But it works out nonetheless, right? You don't have to sully your hands on such peons beneath your notice and it keeps the ship intact. After all, I'm sure you don't want to confiscate some cramped ships for your victory cruise, now do you?"

Chi-Chi couldn't help but tense up, her hands balling up and her eyes barely kept from widening at how he kept talking so slyly. Unlike the man he so closely resembles, he knew how to use his words and was far more intelligent than most of the people she was contending or in association to. Then again, her gaze looked at the prince and his steely coals for eyes didn't break its hardened glare at the angle-maned man, as if measuring what he said and the cons of taking him at his word now.

Then, she heard a chuckle that made her spine crawl, and the blue blooded alien briefly looked in her direction - for a moment, making her stomach lurch - before relaxing his posture and crossing his arms over his chest.

"You're right. You do sweep out the trash quite nicely. I can see why Freeza kept you around as a lapdog," The Prince said with a thin smile, the contempt evident in his voice. Lightening up, he closed his eyes and let out a sated breath from his nostrils. "However, I'm in a really good mood. I'll let you and the woman live. After all, who else would I rather watch when immortality becomes ours."

The emphasis placed on what he said brought a haughty smirk on Nappa and a paled look of understanding on Aspara's face. Chi-Chi relaxed, realising she was out of harm's way for the moment, but couldn't help but wonder why the female Saiyan was looking so worried.

She understood immediately when she heard the prince speak.

"Aspara, you heard your old man. Would you be so kind as to retrieve the balls for us? I don't want the Earthlings behind us give us trouble when we finally obtain our justly earned reward of eternal life."

The others...! Chi-Chi remembered, her eyes bolting wide while Tullece looked over at her with a disapproving stare. Swallowing hard, she reined in her emotions and kept the best impassive expression while Aspara cast one last apprehensive look to her father. Met with no real emotion she felt as if she was allowed to follow the prince's orders and she quickly dashed to the spot of freshly wet dirt from the earlier storm.

With a brief sweep of her hand, the earth was rendered obsolete, and the balls were unveiled. Despite the slick mud and being unearthed, the large spheres wider than her own waist were still immaculate. Likely due to their magical nature, she suspected.

Focusing with her mind she compelled the balls upwards, levitating them by a moderately skilled use of one of her lesser skills of psychic persuasion, telekinesis. As the spheres orbited around her she glanced with her eyes to be set in front of her father, Chi-Chi and the still two standing cohorts of hers she resents being in association with. Releasing a sigh from her briefly parted mouth, she trotted over to her original spot, trying her best to avert her gaze to her father less they suspect her of treachery.

"Finally, at long last...!" The Prince raved, his voice swelling with excitement as his gloves trembled across his chest. "Immortality is within our grasp!"

A ping sounded in his head, briefly halting his jubilation. Looking over his shoulder, he growled, seeing the outline of several incoming auroras of paler colored figures. In addition there appeared to be a vehicle that was moving just alongside it.

"V-Vegeta! They've caught up to us!"

"I felt them before you even noticed, Nappa," Vegeta sneered, turning his head back towards the balls. Raising his hands up to the sky, he then began to shout, his voice filled with a demand as well as unconstrained excitement. "DRAGON! I, VEGETA, DESIRE THAT YOU GRANT MY TWO LOYAL HENCHMAN AND I ETERNAL LIFE! GIVE US IMMORTALITY! THIS I, THE PRINCE OF ALL SAIYANS, COMMAND YOU!"

Chi-Chi had never bore witness to a wish from the legendary Dragon Balls. She had heard of them from her father, and even seen the orbs on Earth on occasion. She had no idea what to expect when the dragon was to burst forth in all of its terrifying stature and mystifying power.

And she was still left wondering, after a prolonged silence was spent between the five present. The translucent balls sat there, not moving an inch or even glowing a little bit. It was as if it was doing nothing to spite the prince, or by some hand of fate, stall long enough for the band of unlikely heroes to arrive to intervene.

Either way, Vegeta began to gasp aloud, "W-Why? Why isn't it working?! They're all here! What more do I need?!"

"So it wasn't just Freeza," Chi-Chi sighed with relief, momentarily forgetting how Freeza said and acted the same way when she was spying from afar. Eyeing Tullece, the man bore no outward sign that he was enjoying this, but she could see his tail shaking in place, as if this brought genuine joy to the Saiyan.

"W-What do we do now, Vegeta?" Nappa inquired, looking down at the man as he grimaced fiercely with frustration.

"Ah! What do you know?" Kuririn's voice sounded as he made a soft landing just beside the Saiyans and Chi-Chi. With Pan dropping beside him, the Capsule airship parked momentarily behind them with Jaco, Tights and Bulma unfastening themselves from the restraints to land and promptly re-capsule the transport as the dwarf looked up knowingly at the frustrated prince. "I told ya, if Freeza couldn't get them to work, it was more than likely none of us can. Not without a Nameccian who knows better."

"Did I ask for your input, Earthling?!"

"My prince," Vegeta whirled around, his irate expression freezing up as he looked shockingly at Chi-Chi; someone that Kuririn and the others glanced with surprise at her change in attire. Placing a hand on her chest, she placed a foot forward and began to express. "I've been to the Grand Elder's. It is likely that he knows how to perform a ritual or a password to have proper use of the balls. If I am allowed, I can go quickly to him and find out what it is."

"So what, you can just turn tail and run?" Nappa asked with a dubious expression on his face. "Fat chance of that! You're staying put right here, woman!"

"I know where it is, though-!"

"Are you hard of hearing?" Aspara inquired, her eyes icily staring at her with a look that told her that it was a mistake to push on the issue. "If you take one step without our say-so, you're dead. End of discussion. Our prince is allowing you to live simply for the spectacle of our wish for immortality. Don't expect any more leeway than that."

"Uh, I hate to break this nail biting tension," Bulma waved, bringing incredulous looks from the Saiyans, Chi-Chi and a curious look from Tullece at her. "But you people do realize that Freeza is more than likely heading that direction? If none of us go there to at least find this out, or even try to save his life from that lunatic boss of yours, no one gets a wish but someone hellbent on genocide and tyranny. Please, stop me if I'm wrong."

Tights subtly withdrew a notepad she kept in her back pocket, fiercely scribbling down everything she was seeing while Jaco nervously glanced every way imaginable.

Vegeta stood there, stonily glaring at everyone present. As he contemplated everything going on, something he had ignored in the back of his mind was a distant feeling that brought the hairs on the back of his neck to stand on edge. He couldn't shake it, but he felt something monstrous was in the horizon, but he knew it couldn't be Freeza.

Then, as if to answer and unasked question, a heavy tap landed right beside Bulma, the silhouette revealing the enormous stature and long mane of a Saiyan with another body slumped over his shoulder.

"Alright, what in the Hell is the hold up, here?" Raditz grated aloud, bringing looks of surprise at him from all sides.

"U-Uncle Raditz!" Pan cried out with joyful surprise.

"Nephew?!" Tullece croaked with a gawking expression.

"Raditz!" Nappa squeaked, his face oblong and full of shock at his sudden entrance, as much as Vegeta stared wide-eyed at his instant arrival and Aspara shrank at the sight of him.

"Hey, I didn't think you'd be done that quick!" Kuririn turned with a relieved exclaimation. Seconds later, he squinted his eyes up at the bloodied form over his shoulder and his stomach sank. "D-Don't tell me...i-is that-?"

"Don't fuss," He growled, throwing the bruised and bloodied form of his younger brother onto the ground with an undignified thud. While Bulma let out a horrified shout, the elder brother placed a finger in his ear and gave a grimaced snort. "The fool just had to press his luck. Apparently the Ginyū fellow showed why he hasn't been replaced as the top squadron leader in years. He stole Gokū's body in a moment of surprise."

"H-He stole papa's body?!" Pan took a step back, the color threatening to drain on her face at hearing that.

"What Ginyū didn't count on was that I was stronger than my little brother," Raditz emphasized with a smug grin, crossing his chest with both arms as he nodded over to him. "Say your sorry for putting me through so much of a headache, brother. Do it, and I may get you fixed up."

"S-Sorry, e-everyone," Gokū grinned, one eye swollen over while a couple of teeth looked ready to fall out from his crooked jawline. His gi, tattered, and torn to shreds. Blood and bruises covered the majority of his person, yet he was surprisingly without much in the way of disfiguration or loss of limbs. He simply looked spent.

"You idiot," Bulma fussed over him, hugging around his neck and then - with Tights help - hauled him upright with one arm lanced over theirs as they stood him up. Looking over at Tullece, she almost did a doubletake as the man looked with his own brand of speechless shock. "You...you're-"

"So it is Kakarrot," Tullece spoke, his voice hollow and his body slackened for the first time. His eyes couldn't shake the feeling he had, of a scarred man that looked so familiar that it brought the memory back to the fore for an instant. But, just as quickly as it came, his smirk adorned on his face and he chuckled aloud. "To see both of my nephews, and one of their children no less, at the same time. This really is fate to bring us all together on this backwater planet."

"Wait, you're his uncle?" Bulma questioned with wide eyes.

"Wow, what a family resemblance," Kuririn propped his hands on his hips. "He almost looked like a twin. Now that I look at him, he does look a bit different, though."

"Bardock and I were twins. That's the resemblance," Tullece retorted, nodding to Bulma with a still armed smile. "Go ahead inside of the ship. There's plenty of available healing tanks that can get him back to full strength in a short time; we may need his help with Freeza still around."

"S-Sure," Bulma hesitantly complied, nodding to him as she helped haul him in while Tights kept a longing stare at him; full of wonderment and awe at just the sight of him.

"Dwarf!" Raditz barked out, instantly causing the shorter ex-orin monk to swerve around at being shouted at. "You know where the old Nameccian is, right? Go find him before Freeza does. He may have possibly hidden his power or moved since Freeza departed so there's still a chance you may find out what we need to know."

"Uh...all alone?" He gulped, feeling himself shaking at the prospect of being in the cross airs of a verified monster.

"Yes, because I don't trust anyone else here," Raditz snarled, stamping his foot and holding a hand out, priming a swelling orb of ki within it. "Or do I have to send you flying?!"

"No, I'm going! I'm going!" He fearfully cried back, igniting in a mantle of light and shooting off into the horizon, making a beeline for the place he remembered heading to since before.

Lowering his hand, he disengage the ball of light and turned to look at Vegeta and his two cohorts, "You three should get some rest. With no night cycle, there's no telling how lacking of strength you have and I don't want any of you slowing me down."

"You got a lot of nerve talking to us like that, you damn traitor!" Nappa snarled, pointing a beefy hand at the long-haired former companion of theirs. "Just who do you take us for?! The only one giving out orders here is-"

"That's enough, Nappa!" Vegeta bellowed, harshly enough that it brought the general to heel and looking down aghast at his superior. Nasally sighing, Vegeta looked at the pair and nodded them to the ship. "For all of his talk, he has shown results. If he could take down Ginyū then we are in no shape to have a fight with him and then Freeza. As much as it turns my stomach, we will place a hold on our impasse...for now."

"Tch, consider yourself lucky," The Saiyan General jeered, strutting away with a persistent glare as he left ahead of the three. Aspara, casting a nervous momentary look to Tullece only to see the man armed with an ear-to-ear smile. It made her spine chill, and she looked away as soon as she was in the know of what her father's schemes were aiming.

As the prince gave a stony look to Raditz he looked to Pan and scoffed, "Hell must have frozen over for me to side with you freaks again!"

"Its a long road before we end up there, my lord," Tullece muttered, turning to join the prince inside, causing Chi-Chi to walk closely behind him. She cast a worried stare at Raditz, the man looking at her with a steely look of caution as much as suspicion. Biting her lip she cast her gaze back towards the shoulders that reminded her of the man she saw, bloodied and beaten, that she couldn't bring herself to even speak to in the condition he was in. Even in arm's length, she felt at loss at what to say or do.

It'll be fine. Once everyone is distracted, I'll sneak away and then dispose of the seed, Chi-Chi thought, a determined look crossing her face as she kept in arm's length of the man she's joined forces with. I'm not sure about this Freeza, or even Vegeta, but this man's plan might destroy the whole planet if he gets his way; and what happens to Son Gokū, and Pan? No, I can't allow him to succeed...I must stop him, at any cost!

---

Grand Elder's Sanctuary, Namek

"Dende...Nail...my sons..." The Grand Elder's voice came out hoarse, gripping the sidearm of his throne. "I am not long for this world."

"But—"

"Elder, I—"

"My sons, let me speak," The Grand Elder cut across them both, his hoarse tones strong and firm. "My life ever wanes...and as it does...our Earthling friends chances of using the Dragon Balls to save those dear to them will be snatched away. And...nearer to us draws the...originator of this evil. The screams of my sons...and your brothers shriek out from his soul...their blood stains his hands. Whether I die of old age...or by his hand, the Dragon Balls will be no more."

"Elder, why are you telling us this?" inquired Nail, daring to interrupt. "You make the situation sound impossible. It isn't like you to remind us of our helplessness."

"Because that...is not what I am doing," replied the Grand Elder. "Come to me...you two. Stand adjacent; Nail...take a knee."

Confused, but obedient, Dende and Nail followed the instructions of the Eldest Nameccian. Dende stood timidly at the Grand Elder's side, while Nail respectfully bent a knee, so that his forehead reached the sidearm of throne, and it was only stuck in this position that Nail realised precisely what the Grand Elder intended. Withered hands placed themselves on the scalps of both Nameccians; from deep within their bodies, a sudden surge of power was pulled forth, manifesting differently for the both of them.

A rush of silver, glowing pure, erupted from the taller and shorter Nameccian; Nail stood tall, cloaked in an aura of pure white. Dende, wide-eyed, looked at his own body, mirrored with a similar aura.

"Your powers...my sons...I've brought your abilities as members of the Warrior and Dragon Clans to the forefront."

"This is...amazing, my Elder," The physical changes that came with the increase — a slight increase in muscle mass to accommodate his body's expanded reservoir of ki — was nothing compared to the feeling of the rush. Among his people, Nail was the strongest of the Warrior Class. Trained from when he hatched to defend the oldest of their people, the Grand Elder, it would take a multitude of the Nameccian warriors who had lived on this planet to merge and equal his strength. With the power he possessed now...

"I've become the strongest Nameccian in the history of our people."

"B-But I'm not a fighter..." said Dende meekly. "How can I help, Grand Elder?"

"Your talents...lie in your mystical powers...my son..." explained the Grand Elder. "Of all the sons I have birthed...there is none...with more potential for our spiritual arts than yourself." The oldest Nameccian's body shuddered violently as he entered a coughing fit, yet he waved Dende and Nail off weakly when they offered assistance. "My health is of no consequence...for soon it shall not be merely my own." Ignoring the looks of confusion on his sons' faces, the Grand Elder continued to speak. "Dende...you are of the Dragon Clan...and your abilities lie within the creation and maintaining of our sacred relics, the Dragon Balls."

The Dragon Clan, Nail knew, was the clan of Nameccians with the highest aptitude for magical power. All Nameccians possessed magic on some level, and could even use it in their day to day lives. And in the heyday of the Nameccian people, many of the Dragon Clan had been examples of what other species would call 'warlocks'; they fought, lived, and breathed by their magic. And the highest ability that certain Dragon Clan Nameccians were born with — it could not be learned, and was said to be a genetic memory of their people — was the ability to create the Dragon Balls.

Perhaps create was too strong a word, thought Nail. When the Grand Elder had described it to me, it wasn't an act of creation; he shaved our Dragon Balls off of a stronger, pre-existing source. Can this boy really...?

"The lifelink to the Dragon Balls no longer resides within me," said the Grand Elder. "In addition to awakening your latent abilities...I have imparted to you the knowledge...of how to activate the Dragon Balls...and placed the lifelink within you..."

"Grand Elder, you transferred the lifelink of the Dragon Balls to this boy!?" Nail shouted incredulously. "That's...he's too young for such a burden!"

"Age matters not...in desperate cases like these..." replied the Grand Elder. "Dende...you too wish to help our friends from Earth...when I brought forth your latent power...I could sense your good intentions. Now...I have given you the means...go to them...let us not do them the disservice of failing them...when they fight so hard for us..."

Trembling, Dende nodded. It was true. Pan and Kuririn were his friends, and had gone to great lengths to help him. He wanted to repay them. Following the Grand Elder's orders, Dende rushed to the door, bursting forth in a flash of white ki. Even if it had been a boost to his mystical abilities, his ki had risen too. Dende was flying faster than he ever had in his life, rushing pell-mell towards his friends. He could make the difference!

"My Elder, if I may speak, I feel like that was an incredibly reckless move," Nail said, his voice full of shock. "Dende is just a child...the burden of the Dragon Balls is too great for him!"

"Then...it will be up to you...to make sure he survives..." replied the Grand Elder. "The lifelink within Dende...is temporary...and will transfer to my true chosen successor...should we be able to right the wrongs committed...by this encroaching evil and his men..."

"Up to me...?" repeated Nail.

"Yes," nodded the Eldest Nameccian. "Nail...he approaches us...and when he arrives, he will bring power without equal...my time as the protector and father of our people has ended...you must take up the mantle of Namek's defender." The Grand Elder inhaled deeply, Nail feeling, with great surprise, the ki of his father beginning to rise. "Raising your strength was merely...the first step. Place your hand on my chest...and we will become one."

"What?!" Nail knew of the technique; the Assimilation was a genetic ability possessed by every Nameccian. In dire situations, they could directly absorb one of their own kind, and drastically raise their battle strength. When used by those who possessed the right compatability, it produced a warrior of incredible ability. It had been used scarcely in the history of their people, as they'd rarely ever needed to Assimilate to fend off anything. "Elder...you don't mean—!"

"I have lived...a long life. I have no regrets." The Grand Elder, brimming with ki, exhaled, and the power dispersed. "But you are still young...and full of a fiery spirit few I've seen of my children. You deserve...to have a fighting chance...to avenge Namek."

To say that Nail didn't like this plan was an understatement. He'd never thought a day would come where he would no longer protect the Grand Elder, but to be asked to Assimilate the eldest of their people, their patriarch? It almost felt like too much responsibility. However, it was a direct order from the person he'd swore his allegiance too, and it could very well be their best chance to protect their home. "...I understand..." Nail placed his hand on Guru's chest, directly over where his heart would be.

"You've been a good son, Nail," replied the Grand Elder, his voice oddly forlorn. "I'm proud...of the Nameccian you've become." He inhaled deeply, and, suddenly, without warning, let out a voluminous howl that Nail had never heard from him before. The Grand Elder's body illuminated itself, brimming with vibrancy akin to a star; it poured out of the sanctuary room, swathing over Nail in a blinding wash of light.

Nail stood, alone, within the empty building. His father's throne was empty. But within his soul, he could feel the history of the Nameccian people; centuries of knowledge, centuries of experience, but most important, a wealth of love for his planet and his people filled his heart, along with an ample increase to his already bolstered combat strength. Nail could feel it; the 'him' of only a moment ago was not the strongest Nameccian in the history of their people.

No. The him of right now was the strongest warrior.

Nail's senses picked up the stifling presence of a horrendous, evil power closing in. It had passed Dende, and yet Dende's signature was mercifully untouched. It was time for Namek to strike back!

Go forward, my son...for the sake of Namek.

---

A/N:

Demod20

: And this was quite a chapter. At first I was happy enough to get my half completed in a single sitting. Having Raditz toy with Jheese and ultimately be his downfall was damn cathartic for me to write. And I even got to show the small amount of pride and affection that Ginyū had as a warrior seeing Butta almost get killed in such a offhanded manner only for him to go back to being a slimy bastard and stealing Goku's body; too bad Raditz was there to beat him out of it! But as for the rest, I lent a hand to my co-author and helped cap off the end of Tullece's stand-off with Vegeta, and unveiling that yes, he can't just use the Dragon Balls on his own like he thought he could (just because he's that arrogant he believed he could do it just because). Now that our heroes arrived Bulma can slice through the tension because of how little she cares for their threatening posturing and then Raditz puts his foot down and gets Kuririn to go get the password. All-in-all, my favorite part is what my co-author ended with Nail getting a power boost *and* fusing with the Grand Elder. Yes, we went there, and we have no regrets because we believe its genius and a great aversion to the canonical events that transpire. Look forward to Nail's legitimate battle against Freeza while our heroes try to get the Balls to work...! (PS. with the ongoing events that will inevitably be dated long after this chapter is posted, my only wishes is that all our readers stay safe, keep calm and wash your hands! Looking forward to you all reading the next chapter when we update it!)

LastationLover5000: I'm not gonna lie, I was worried we weren't gonna get this chapter done. My counterpart had written a fantastic section, and while I managed to write the end with no issues, I was having some massive writer's block with the middle section. Mercifully, he picked up the slack and it resulted in a fantastic middle half! Gokū vs. Ginyū, Raditz vs. Jheese, he made two incredible battles, one of which got ended offscreen. While I'm sure you guys might not be fond of that, I like to think the coming characters interactions and future battles coming up are going to be more important — my co-author definitely made the right call. I love what he's got going with Raditz; Raditz is "good" but not "pure". He's still a Saiyan warrior who grew up bullied by Vegeta, Nappa, and his cousin. He's got his own hang-ups and he hasn't thawed entirely. Also, I hope y'all paid attention to his fight. But we'll see. Now for the section I can claim 100% credit for writing, but the idea was a mutual agreement, and not even our editor knew before we finished this chapter. Naiil merging with the Grand Elder after receiving his own boost to power, and Dende receiving the same blessing with the additional gift of carrying the Dragon Ball's lifelink. Whoo boy. I cannot wait to see where we're going! And as my counterpart has said, everyone, please take care as the coronavirus sweeps the world. Humanity is only as strong as it is united; do not use this as a time to be excessively cruel. Look out for everyone, help other people and for the love of the Force, practise basic hygiene.