Poisonous
Vegeta chuckled as he saw the two right hand men of Frieza. "Zarbon..Dodoria...it's been such a long time.."
"Cut to the business," Zarbon scolded.
"I will.."replied Vegeta.
Dodoria growled. "You better not be playing a prank on us, Vegeta. Otherwise, you will have to pay the price with your life."
Vegeta's smirk was unaffected. The prince took out a small bottle from his pocket and tossed it to Zarbon.
Zarbon caught the bottle and looked questioningly at Vegeta.
"It's Sianide," the prince said. "The strongest poison known in the universe...I want you to mix it in Frieza's favourite wine."
Dodoria's mouth hung open. "From where did you get it, Vegeta?"
Of course, Vegeta wasn't going to tell.
Dodoria looked at Zarbon, waiting to see his response on the matter.
Vegeta spoke. "With this poison, his powerlevel is expected to temporarily drop by more than ten times. And at that time, in his state of grogginess, I want the both of you to finish him off with your strongest attacks."
Zarbon narrowed his eyes. "Vegeta..the money you are offering us maybe truly a gigantic sum but..I don't think it's worth losing a permanent job.."
Vegeta shook his head. "Why do you think so low, Zarbon? Who do you think will inherit the control of Frieza's planets and his corporation after this? Frieza doesn't have any children."
Zarbon smirked. "I see what you are getting at."
Vegeta chuckled. "I always knew you to be the smart one."
"But surely you would want to gain something from this, Vegeta," said the teal-skinned alien.
"We will see about that later," replied the prince. "Currently my topmost priority is to escape Frieza's control over me. And it seems that killing him would be the best way out of it."
"We would need some money in advance...in cash."
"Gladly," said Vegeta as he took out a bundle of notes from his pocket and tossed it to Zarbon.
Zarbon caught the money. "Stay tuned on your scouter," he said before jumping into the air. "Let's go, Dodoria."
Dodoria was still looking apprehensive about the whole matter. However, he too jumped up.
Both of them ignited their auras and flew away.
"Are you sure about this, Zarbon?" Dodoria asked as they flew side by side. Surely, with all the favours Frieza had bestowed upon them over the years, it didn't seem fair.. "How will you explain this to Cooler or Cold if they found out afterwards."
Zarbon remained silent.
Vegeta looked serious now. He just hoped his plan would fall in place.
Yajirobe had watched the whole scene silently. "Who is this Frieza guy you are trying to get killed?" He had heard the name mentioned plenty of times before. He was a feared guy, that he could make out.
"You wouldn't want to know, tummy. Trust me.."
...
Krillin and Yamcha were still hiding and waiting. They were sweating. The two powerlevels that had just went away felt enormous. And apparently, there was also someone called Frieza from whom even Vegeta was afraid of.
Yamcha spoke shakily. "Man, I thought I was strong but it looks like we don't even measure up on the intergalactic scale."
"I feel the same," said Krillin.
...
Vegeta walked towards his pod and sat down, leaning on it.
Yajirobe felt hungry. "Hey, Vegeta. How about I go and get us some food?"
"No," replied Vegeta. The prince knew that the soldiers of Frieza were all over the planet. And..he didn't want to lose Yajirobe as of now.
The fat man reluctantly sat down and took out a sache from his pocket. He opened it and swallowed the containing powder. It tasted horrible.
Mr Popo flew at his top speed. Finally, he arrived at his destination. On top of a tall and thin cliff was a large white Namekian house.
Mr Popo walked towards the door and pressed the bell.
RING! RING!
.
"NAIIIL!" Someone from inside called out. "We have a visitor."
After some time, a tall Namekian opened the door. "Mr Popo..it's been such a long time."
Mr Popo looked confused. "Who are you?"
The tall Namek blinked. "Don't you remember me, I am Nail."
"Oh, Nail! I am sorry. I failed to recognize you since you have grown so much. Last time I visited, you were just a little boy!"
"Come inside," said Nail. "Guru will be pleased to meet you."
Mr Popo walked inside.
Goku and Tien landed on Khami's place. At that time both Khami and Korin were sitting together having a cup of tea.
A newspaper lay on the table.
Khami was chatting about something with the cat. "I can't believe Gelsea lost so easily."
Korin looked in agreement. "I know. Cadrid is still a force to be reckoned with."
Khami took a sip from his cup. "And that is despite the fact Tonaldo left."
Goku and Tien both looked confused by the conversation.
"Ahem." Tien cleared his throat.
Khami looked above his cup.
Goku grinned. "What's up, Khami?"
Khami blinked. "Oh, Goku...and Tien. It's truly been a long time."
"You haven't heard from Mr Popo recently, have you?" asked Goku.
Khami shook his head. "No. But I suppose he must be close to Namek by now. He had promised to call me as soon as he got there."
"Oh," said Goku.
Tien walked over to where Korin was sitting. "Hey, Korin. How's it going?"
Korin beamed. "Fantastic."
Tien smiled faintly.
Chichi was currently feeding her baby. Her father, Ox king was sitting on a chair at one end of the room.
"If only your mother would have been alive," the large man said. "She would have been so happy to see her grandkid."
"Yes, papa. But what can one do? We all have to leave the world someday."
Ox king nodded glumly.
"I hope Goku gets back quick. I don't want him to catch another cold."
"Nah. He will be fine," said the large man.
Suddenly, there was a knock at the door.
"I wonder who it is?" wondered Ox king. The large man made his way out of the room and reached the door to open it.
"Well hello, Ox king!"
"Master Roshi!"
The old master was grinning. "Hehehe. Where's Goku?"
"He's at Khami's place."
"Oh. I see."
"Tien's with him too."
The old master nodded. "Well then, I guess I better get going."
Ox king's mouth dropped open. "Come on, master. Atleast have a cup of coffee with us!"
"Sorry, Ox," Master Roshi replied. "I am sort of in a hurry. See you later!"
With that Master Roshi hopped back into his car. The old man put his car into reverse gear and in a moment was speeding away.
Ox king watched the old man go. "That's strange. Master usually never behaves like that."
As Master Roshi was driving his car to Khami's, his forehead was brimming with sweat. He almost fell a shiver up his spine as he remembered.
Zarbon and Dodoria finally landed in front of Frieza's huge spaceship.
Immediately, the soldiers had lined up in front of them. All of the soldiers greeted them with a salute.
Zarbon ran his gaze over the row of soldiers. "Where's Bawarci, the cheff?"
"He's inside, preparing Lord Frieza's next meal."
Zarbon listened to the answer and walked in.
Dodoria was grinning at the soldiers. "You may see a surprise coming up."
Many of the soldiers raised their eyebrows... but knew better than to ask questions.
Dodoria was grinning nastily as he walked inside.
Krillin and Yamcha were still sitting behind the rock.
"Man," said Yamcha quietly. "For just how many hours we will have to sit here in wait?"
Krillin too looked exhausted. "Ask that to Vegeta."
...
Meanwhile, Yajirobe had dozed off to a sleep on the blue grass of the planet.
Vegeta sat leaning on his space-pod. He could make out from his scouter that Zarbon and Dodoria had arrived at Frieza's spaceship.
The huge old Namekian called Guru was sitting on a chair fitting his size. Even though his eyes were near close he could make out the figure of Nail and the guest before him. "Ah. Popo. So good to see you. How is it going? And where's Khami?"
Mr Popo smiled. "Everything's fine, Guru. Here," he said, taking out the letter from Khami and handing it to Guru. "Khami has sent a letter for you "
"NAIIIL!" Guru called out. "Read this letter for me."
"Yes, master," said Nail, taking the letter from Guru's hand and opening it. He began to read it aloud. "Greetings, Guru. I hope this letter finds you in good health."
Guru smiled. "Greetings and peace be upon Khami. I am in good health!"
Nail continued his reading of the letter. "My assistant, Mr Popo, and some of my students have come to retrieve another student of mine who was kidnapped by a Saiyan and taken to your planet. As you may be knowing, the journey from Earth to Namek is a long one and I am afraid that our fuel stock is about to get exhausted. Therefore I request you to provide us with some fuel oil for our spaceship. You can receive your payment from Mr Popo. I will be highly grateful to you. Yours sincerely, Khami."
Guru coughed before speaking. "How come a Saiyan was able to kidnap a student of Khami's while he was still alive? Khami must have grown lazy."
"Actually," said Mr Popo. "Khami is now not as strong as he used to be."
...
Mr Popo was about to leave with the huge can of fuel oil. "I will be leaving now...but... I have to ask you something."
Guru raised his eyebrows. "Huh? What is it?"
"Why do both of your faces look so glum? Has something happened?"
Guru sighed. "You tell him, Nail. I just don't have the heart."
"Last month, a group of aliens landed on our planet, " said Nail.
Mr Popo's mouth fell open. "Aliens?"
Nail nodded. "Yes. They wanted to buy some Ragon from us. We could immediately make out that their intentions were evil, so we refused. Since then, they have been attacking our villages and forcing our brothers to reveal to them the location of the Ragon mines. They have massacred thousands of us. And we fear the worse...I have heard that they want to wipe out most of our population so that they can sell our planet to some multigalactic resort."
Mr Popo looked taken aback. "Ah. That's terrible. But how are you allowing them so? Are they strong?"
"Yes. Terrifyingly strong. Some of the strongest of our warriors have been defeated like they were nothing. If only Guru had been still young, he could wipe them out, no problem. But as you can see, he can no longer even walk without assistance, much less fight," he said grimly.
Guru spoke. "I was considering to ask you to inform the son of Katas about this. But I guess he has grown old and weak too, just like me."
Mr Popo was looking at the floor. "Yes, he has. But I think I know of somebody who could be of some help."
Guru raised his brows. "Huh?"
Mr Popo took out a device from his pocket. He had it wirelessly connected to his spaceship's computer. "How about a video call with Khami? He would love to hear from you guys after so many days."
Guru raised his brows. "Is that possible from this far? If yes, then sure. Go ahead."
Both Goku and Tien walked out of some sort of room. Both of their clothes were looking tattered.
Khami and Korin stood there to greet them.
"Didn't I tell you that you won't be able to last there for a full day? It's only been six hours since you went in," said Khami.
"Well," spoke Korin. "I am surprised you survived it. The whole lot of your training for the last two years must have come in handy."
Goku and Tien stepped forwards wordlessly. They had an aura of confidence radiating from them. Strangely, they didn't look the same persons as before.
Goku sniffed his collar. "Man. I really need to have a change of clothes."
Tien clenched and unclenched his fist. His power..it felt surreal.
Right then, there was the sound of a phone ringing.
"Coming," said Khami as he left to receive the call.
The old man walked inside a dark room and picked up the phone placed there. "A video call from the spaceship. Just at the right time."
Soon Khami had arrived back to Goku, Tien and Korin with the phone in his hand.
"Who is it?" asked Tien.
Khami was looking visibly worried. "Goku, Tien. Here. Someone wants to speak to you." He handed the phone to Goku. Tien was standing adjacent to him.
Korin looked with concern. "What is it, Khami? Is there something to worry about?"
"Yes, Korin," replied the old man. "My planet..it's in danger."
Korin looked taken aback. "What?! But didn't you tell me that Namek was full of legendary warriors?"
"Yes," Khami replied before a pause. "But there were only three to four of them last time I mentioned. And now all of them have either gotten old, died or left the planet. As of now, Namek is defenseless..."
...
Goku looked angry as he completed the phone call. "How dare they!"
Tien was also serious. "That is something to be worried about. I hope we can be of some help."
Goku had his teeth gritted. Oppression...he hated oppression. Ever since he was a child, ..his heart always lent out for the oppressed, no matter who they were.
Korin watched Goku and Tien. It was rare for Goku to get angry, so when he did...it was a sight to behold.
Guru sighed. "You think your friends could be of any help, Popo?"
Mr Popo nodded. "Yes. I am positive." Mr Popo knew how much Goku had improved in the one year of his training with King Gai. And..if he had kept up with his training in the last one year as well, there was no telling how much stronger he would have gotten by now.
Nail handed a slip of paper to Mr Popo. "Here. This is the shortcut."
Mr Popo took the paper and put it into his pocket.
"You have to be careful," said Nail. "That warphole is a dangerous one."
Mr Popo waved his hand. "Don't worry. I am the best driver you will ever see. See you in a week."
With that Mr Popo began to walk away. Nail accompanied him to the door after which the turbanned man ignited his aura and took off.
Frieza smiled as he heard Zarbon's story.
Both Zarbon and Dodoria were standing some distance behind the icy tyrant.
"Oh, Vegeta. Hm hm hm.."
To be continued...
Can Goku and Tien help out the helpless people of Namek? Or will Frieza's reign of destruction continue unhindered? Find out, next time on DBZ:ONE!