Heart of Adventurers

By LastationLover5000 and Demod20

Chapter 40 - Paving A New Path

Tense.

That is the situation everyone, as well as the emotion all felt, are trying to escape.

Thanks to Nail's arrival, Bulma didn't have to carry her husband back. She had run out of large transport vehicles so she thanked his assistance as he held each of them underarm.

Looking at her unconscious beloved, any guilt she could have had about being responsible for that last blow by his uncle fizzled at seeing the sign of sleep emanating from his bloodied face. He is alive, and that's what mattered most to her. She'll take whatever verbal reprimand awaiting her if it means her family is alive and safe.

"We are almost there," Nail declared, breaking her reverie. Looking away, she saw an amazing thing; Nameccians, dozens - no, hundreds were all gathered outside of the ship she recognized as her father's design. The black striped white spherical orb had a half circle of green along an impact site that made a significant crater on landing. Among the most notable were the elders, older and wizened looking obviously as the chieftains of the various village folk that had been on the planet.

Said elders were being spoken to by two large Saiyans; one of which she knew too well.

"Get on the ship, you green gaggle of hermits!" Raditz barked out with a strong hand waving insistently to the ship. "The planet is going to be unlivable in a matter of hours!"

"Nail has not yet returned," One taller elder spoke in a raspy voice. "We will not depart without our Grand Elder."

"He wouldn't want all of you to die in vain of his sacrifice either," Raditz argued, stomping forth and raising a fist threateningly. "Now get on board before I drag you all by the scruff of your necks!"

"Please, we just need to wait a little longer-"

"I've waited too long!" Raditz bellowed, veins throbbing along his neck and forehead. Looking over to Nappa who nervously averted eye contact with the other Nameccians, he grumbled to himself. "First the woman, then the god in my head, Nappa of all people helping me and everything is about to go straight to Hell. My patience is about as worn thin I just might leave now-"

"Grand Elder has returned!" One of the Nameccians, Elder Moori, said with jubilation.

The Nameccians crowded Nail as he touched wearily down on the ground. While Bulma ran over to the other side of him, Nail raised a hand in dismissal, hoisting Gokū easily over his back as he addressed his people.

"My sons, it is time we leave this world," He said with solemn authority, embracing the side of his former superior as a part of himself. "These Saiyans have given their all to ensure we survive. We must listen to their reason and escape while we still can."

The Nameccians looked about with a mixture of hesitation. True, the Saiyans had ensured they all gathered over to the ship to escape. But they all bowed their heads and began to file into the ship in an orderly file.

"It was that easy? Really?!" Raditz yelled indignantly.

"Raditz, we should get on board," Nappa muttered quietly.

"Fine, whatever," He said, turning around and not looking at anyone but Bulma; whom he glared at and pointed a finger at her. "I will speak to you later."

Bulma but her tongue. Given the direness of their given situation, she knew now wasn't a good time to bicker. Getting off the dying world was.

Thankfully the Nameccians filed in quickly and orderly. Whatever room was being taken up was being put to good use. She thanked her father for making his prototype a spacious one, even if it was never intended to transport so many passengers.

After five minutes she walked up, taking one last look at the burning horizon and it's smog covered sky.

She remembered that night on Son's roof all those years ago. The fleeting fantasy of going to the stars and visiting new worlds together crossed her mind. She wished for simpler, innocent times.

Hopefully there was a chance to reclaim it.

Then, a flicker of light races towards her. Inwardly her heart leaped to her throat, her feet freezing in place. As her built-in scouter bleeped data that gave her another headache, her mental throb relieved when it touched down.

"There you are!" Vegeta declared in a panic, his body still covered in ashen soil and blood from his recent demise. Walking up towards her, he harshly asked her with a demanding tone. "Where is he?!"

Realizing who he was talking about, Bulma frowned and bluntly answered, "He's gone. Tullece left with his daughter."

"He survived after all," He growled out, his face tensing up before falling. "I had thought if I couldn't do it, then maybe they could have..."

It looked odd to the woman. He almost appeared lamentful.

Shaking his head, he brushed her aside and walked up into the ship without another word. Even now Bulma could hear the faint rumble of the planet cracking and the heavens flashing with chaotic discharge. Joining after him, the spherical ship soon lifted up off the ground and took off in a comet of light into the blackness of space.

The exit from certain doom came rushed and time for deliberation shelved in favor of pursuing safety. The black and white orb hurtled across breakneck speeds, departing from the solar system in a matter of seconds and leaving this alien galaxy soon to be behind them.

Within, the underbelly of the ship was full to capacity. Nameccians huddled beneath to save as much room as possible, shaping their bodies and congealing to as little surface area as possible. Even Nail used his mystical powers granted by the Grand Elder, now a part of him, to expand the storage area; knowing that part of the ship won't conflict with the more vital and necessary parts to keep it flying.

Up above where the main hub of the vessel presided were the main occupants: the four Saiyans, Pan, Dende, Nail and Bulma.

Gokū was asleep beside his daughter, both wrapped by blankets kept in storage. Dende kept himself busy by healing everyone; starting from Pan, then Gokū onwards. Vegeta sat upon a crate with his head down resting upon his hands. Nappa awkwardly shuffled around the central pillar, fidgeting with the settings and looking at all the odd and ends buttons the ship had compared to an Attack Pod. Nail himself say cross-legged and meditated, Bulma eyeing him strangely at his likeness to Piccolo.

And Raditz, finished cleaning himself in the lavatory the ship had, came out in a simple black muscle tee and a pair of blue shorts. Devoid of blood and soil, only bruises and scabbed cuts remained; not bothering him enough to stomp straight towards Bulma.

"The HELL were you THINKING?!" He bellowed, snapping her out of her daze of observing Nail.

A few seconds hesitation Bulma had before she scowled back and asked indignantly, "What was I-?!"

"You already died because you threw yourself into harm's way! And then you did it again, this time almost getting both of yourselves killed!" Raditz yelled, raising up a shaking fist at her while his face bent down only a foot apart. "Have you lost your mind, Bulma?!"

"In case you didn't notice, my husband was killing himself!" Bulma yelled back, standing up straight to glare up at his much taller imposing form. Dende cowered near Nail who simply observed with one open eye, Nappa awkwardly kept a distance and Vegeta didn't move from his dour position. "The planet would have exploded if he continued, then we all would have died for nothing! Do you not care about anything but your own skin?!"

Raditz grasped her by her shirt, surprising her as she felt herself lifted off her feet and staring close at his furious, vein throbbing face.

"Listen well, Kakarrot's mate," Raditz hissed in a seething anger that made Bulma shudder. "I was dragged her into this suicide mission by my brother and I did so only because he is my brother. Your daughter and sister aside, I do not like your attitude you take so flippantly, especially to me! I put my life on the line more than I ever have in my whole life so that your Earthling friends could be magicked back by a mystical dragon. So how about showing some gratitude and listening to someone who actually values survival?!"

Dropping her with a thud, Bulma blinked hard and grimaced at the pain of the fall. Looking up, she saw frustration on his face clear as day. It made her own face falter, realizing where his anger came from.

"You're supposed to be the smart one," He rasped out, staring at her incredulously. "What did you think your presence on a battlefield could amount to? Anything at all?"

Bulma started to say something but couldn't get her words out. It felt like a vice stronger than Raditz was wrapped around her neck. That feeling of complete and utter weakness of being unable to do anything.

There was no Red Ribbon goons for her to trick or monsters to distract. There have been cold hearted killers more terrible than Daimao Piccolo before. Even with her in-built scouter, she easily became a liability when the fighting began.

The only reason Gokū flew into a rage for her was her act of desperation fueled by fear of losing her family. And in the end, she died without being able to defend herself.

"That's what I thought," Raditz grumbled, stomping away to where his brother presided. Squatting down, he gave his younger sibling an odd look. His sleeping face appeared so familiar, to the time he saw him in his pod.

Dismissing the memory with the recent fury his brother had as a Super Saiyan, he raised a hand and slapped him across the cheek.

"OW!" Gokū sharply cried out, holding onto his reddened cheek with a jumping start. "T-That hurt, Raditz!"

"Good to see the little green one's healing works as well as a Senzu," Raditz stated matter-of-factly, standing up to look at his roused brother eye to eye. "Your woman almost got you killed. I'm glad to see that her stupidity didn't make me an only child."

Gokū relaxed, though still rubbed the redness of his cheek. He looked over to Bulma who smiled at him but didn't look completely happy. He couldn't smile wholly himself, and he knew they both felt sour from the circumstance of their recent reunion.

Not to mention…

"You've done the unthinkable, Kakarrot," Raditz proclaimed, now with pride as he looked his sibling in the eyes. "My younger brother, the Legendary Super Saiyan! If nothing else, I'm sure Tullece won't be so reckless to try to kill you after this battle."

"He did seem like he could," Gokū replied, his mind flashing back to Tullece's parting words. Scrunching up his face in confusion, he clenched his head, relieved to feel no pain from the near mortal wound he had been dealt. "But for some reason, he kept saying Bardock's line will end. Did he have something against your...er, our father?"

Raditz's eyes clouded and his countenance sharpened. Turning around to look at the other pair of Saiyans vaguely listening to their conversation, he sighed and took a seat on the metal floor. Gokū joined him, and even Bulma sat cross-legged to hear what her brother-in-law had to say.

"Our uncle has never looked favorably at us. From what our mother said, he had a very skewed view of what Saiyans should be. It's not the same as Vegeta and Nappa," he said, briefly casting a glare over his shoulder at the pair who didn't meet his gaze, then continued. "He believed in the stories of old, myths and legends alike. He wanted to achieve the impossible and rebuild the Saiyans free from Freeza and his father. Our father didn't care about that; he just wanted to keep his squad alive and his mate happy. All the other details didn't matter to him."

"No matter what, Kakarrot, you have to survive!"

"Watch after your brother."

"Don't forget about us!"

The memory flooded back to the fore again in the younger, Earth raised Saiyan. A younger slender woman in armor with hair similar to Raditz was smiling and weeping as he pushed a smaller hand against cool glass of red color. His father, scarred and eerily similar to his own face, smiled back at him even as he ascended. The last cry was barely heard and his small hands beat on the glass in futility before the planet was left far behind.

Shaking his head, Gokū suddenly realized how wet his eyes felt.

"Kakarrot?" Raditz asked in quiet disbelief.

"I...remember them," Goku said with a happy choke in his voice, blinking rapidly to clear away the irritants in his eyes. "Our parents. They sent me away, told me to survive and not forget about them. I always thought they'd abandoned me before Grandpa found me but they saved me; just wish it didn't take me this long to remember them."

Raditz felt emotions well up inside of him as well. It was another thing to tie him with his estranged sibling. Though they had fought and bickered on many things, they survived together and managed to obtain victory despite the odds.

Reaching a hand out, Raditz rubbed Gokū's head affectionately, earning an odd blinking look from him. He smiled at his younger sibling, and it was returned, a quiet moment between brothers.

Bulma, Dende and even Nail found something endearing about it all. Wholesome even.

Vegeta however clicked his tongue and rose back up to his feet.

"All this talk of family is making me sick," Vegeta sneered with a huff, not bothering to look at the others as he crossed the distance to his last subordinate. "The moment we land back on their world, we're leaving on this or the next best vessel to pursue that traitor. I still have a score to settle for this so-called 'new emperor."

"You won't have any complaints from us," Bulma replied, finding her glib in the wake of Vegeta's attitude.

"Actually, Vegeta," Nappa spoke up, gaining a look from the Prince. "I'm not following. Not after Namek."

"Are you disobeying me, Nappa?" Vegeta asked quietly, his eyes already glinting with fury.

"If it wasn't for these guys, Freeza and Tullece would've killed us. And now you want to fight him alone?!" Nappa asked incredulously, stepping back and shaking his head. "I would rather take my chances with the Earthlings. You're going to get me killed either way, and you wouldn't even blink. And I raised you!"

Vegeta stated for a long while. His thoughts were unknown to all as he stood still like a statue. A minute later he turned to enter the lavatory, opening the door.

"Do as you like," He brusquely spoke, entering the restroom before shutting the door behind him.

Nappa fell onto the central pillar and slumped to the floor, breathing heavily with sweat pouring off him. It was a first in his life. Speaking up to Vegeta, father or son, was something he didn't do.

But now he was free. But, to do what?

"You can't seriously think I'd allow you to stay on Earth?" Raditz asked with indignation.

"But Raditz, if he behaves, I don't see a problem," Gokū argued innocently.

"Oh not this-"

"But if he doesn't," He added, a serious edge touching his voice as a faint yellow glow escaped his body, making it visible to Nappa as he stared hard at the older brutish Saiyan. "It's not like he would be hard to take down."

"I-I'll behave! I swear!" Nappa insisted with a bounce up to his feet, waving his arms with emphatic display. "I'd never upset the Super Saiyan! Not in another thousand years!"

"Good to hear," Gokū nodded, his glow dimming and a smile returning. "Everyone deserves a second chance, after all."

Raditz clicked his tongue and rolled his eyes. Even with the threat, his brother seemed soft in his eyes. Some things don't change.

Bulma however stopped short and looked around. It caught the group's gaze as her eyes went wild with fear.

"Gokū something's wrong," She began to say, her words echoing his sudden thoughts as his face paled. "Where's Chi-Chi?"

Freeza's Ship, Namek

Tullece stumbled into Freeza's ship, Aspara still held under his arm. When the ramp receded into the craft, the Saiyan threw Aspara onto the floor, and began to make his way towards the control room. She began to stir, the impact against metal rousing her. Aspara looked confused at first, before seeing her wounded and exhausted father heading away from her.

"F-Father, what happened? Did...did you win?" She asked this question hesitantly. Aspara didn't fancy a beating so soon after waking up.

"...no," replied Tullece dryly. "Come with me." It wasn't a request. It was a command. Aspara stood up, and followed. Freeza's ship was laid out in a manner almost as infuriating as Freeza himself, and trying to get to the control room in time to escape a dying planet didn't make things better. Mercifully, the ship had only minor damage, as Tullece had been careful to preserve it for his escape. When they made it into the overly spacious control room, Tullece casually walked over to the main console.

Aspara's attention, however, was drawn to something else. Sitting on the corner, bruised, beaten, and unconscious, was the figure of that Earthling woman. She wasn't moving, so it was clear she was completely and utterly insentient. What stood out the most, however, wasn't her physical state. It was the thing attached to her. On Chi-Chi's neck was a silver ring, fastened at the front into a lock. Aspara recognised it immediately as the collars used by the Freeza Army. Controlled with a remote, they delivered a powerful electric shock, and were typically used when the recruitment of slave labour was necessary.

"Father...why is this woman here?" Aspara asked slowly.

"Think of her as your new mother," Tullece replied, prodding the start button on the console, which booted up multiple monitors all around them. "She is my prize from this conquest; an unexpected surprise but a welcome one to be sure. A new mate, with a fierce personality and impressive fighting strength." A malicious grin spread over his face as he punched into navigation system their coordinates: Frieza planet 444.
"My mother?" said Aspara, affronted. Discounting the similarities in age, this woman was Earthling, and Kakarrot's friend. How in the hell did her father think she wanted this for a mother? Stifling this objection, she posed a different question. "She loathes us; do you intend to keep her in line with the collar for the rest of her life?"

"The collar is a temporary measure" replied Tullece. "Until we make it to 444, it will ensure she stays docile." Absentmindedly, Tullece tossed a metal square towards Aspara. "That is the remote. Use it on her if she wakes up." He began fiddling with another keyboard as the ship began to rumble and lift off. This keyboard brought out a small device, which appeared to be a scanner. Tullece walked over, and removed from one of his tattered armbands a seed - the seed of the Shinseijū, which had removed from a piece of fruit in his battle with Kakarrot.
"I'm never one to attribute something to luck," he said, and placed this seed within the scanner, which retreated back into the console, "but if there are gods, at least one of them was on my side." Another monitor lit up, and the strange characters written were plain to Tullece eyes:

ＳＣＡＮ ＣＯＭＰＬＥＴＥ． ＳＥＡＲＣＨＩＮＧ ＦＯＲ ＣＯＭＰＡＴＩＢＬＥ ＷＯＲＬＤＳ．

"What will we do now then, Father?" Aspara asked carefully. She didn't see what Tullece's plan of action was. He'd killed Freeza. The entire staff of this ship was slain. What could he gain from this? And the woman he held captive. None of it tracked inside her head.

"Freeza's empire is ours now, my child," said Tullece without an ounce of hesitation. Standing in front of the monitor, he spread his arms wide, as if to encompass all of space. "With that woman as my Empress, and you as my heir, we will fully claim what Freeza couldn't: the birthright of our people!" Clenching his fist, he strode towards Aspara, who flinched habitually, but the blow never came. Instead, she felt a hand on her head, and her long hair ruffled wildly.

"Kakarrot may be a Super Saiyan now, but he will not be the only one," Tullece stared directly into the nervous eyes of his own progeny. "You will become a Super Saiyan; the ability flows in your blood as strongly as his." Removing his hand from her head, he strode away in silence, leaving a stunned Aspara to contemplate her father's gesture.

Exiting the room, Tullece began to search for the remaining bacta tanks within the ship. He merely needed one, and to his relief, he found an older model intact. The Saiyan operated the keyboard quickly, and fitted himself with an oxygen mask as he slid into the medical machine. The liquid began to rise up in the machine, filling it entirely. It soothed the pain and relaxed the nerves, allowing him to close his eyes for a brief moment of respite.

Even if you cannot become a Super Saiyan, my child, that woman will bear me heirs who can. Maliciously, Tullece's brain drifted towards his deceased brother, long gone. You will not hold the last laugh forever, Bardock. My kin will surpass yours, whether they want to or not. As he drifted off, allowing himself to finally sleep, Tullece knew he had one more errand to run after arriving on Planet 444.

The Heeters cannot run unchecked with Freeza dead. I'll pay them a visit shortly...and turn my attention to the rest of the Galaxy.

AN:

Demod20: A solemn yet easier to different change of pace after our last chapter. Gotta say, I like giving Goku family bonds. It gives him depth he has sorely lacked over the years, and this family dynamic helps divide the rivalry of Vegeta so everyone can be a bit more independent from him. And in the heat of escape, everyone forgot Chi-Chi! I don't think Tullece has any plans that benefit Chi-Chi...or does he? Find out in the next Chapter of Heart of Adventurers.

LastationLover5000: I've never been so quick to write a follow-up. I hope you all like this chapter; its morose, while still hopeful thanks to my coauthor, but my section shows how twisted Tullece can be. Our heroes may have won, but one of their friends is in the clutches of the enemy. How will they resolve this? We'll show you all soon! In the meantime, enjoy! We can't wait to take our story elsewhere!