Expect Death

Vegeta was still sitting and monitoring the power levels of Zarbon and Dodoria. The prince felt a bit of unease.

'Frieza.' He felt he could give anything..anything to finally see him dead.

Yajirobe was meanwhile snoring loudly.

"Huh?" Vegeta was a bit surprised when his scouter could suddenly detect Frieza's power-level drop..before vanishing completely.

He stood up on his feet. Was this it?

His mouth was hung open. Cold sweat made its way down his temple and forehead. He focused his scouter on the fat man called Yajirobe. A reading of fourteen hundred popped up. Yes, his scouter was fine.

It seemed good. It seemed just too good. Too good to be true, in fact. He almost felt like he was having a dream.

He could now detect the powerlevels of Zarbon and Dodoria make their way back to him.

A faint smile appeared on his features which gradually made way for a full-blown grin.

"Yes! It's finally over!" The prince began to laugh loudly. "He's dead. He's finally dead!"

...

Krillin raised an eyebrow as he saw Vegeta's display of emotion. "What's up with him? Has he gone nuts?"

"Or maybe," said Yamcha. "His scheme with those two guys worked...they must have killed that Feeza."

"I see," said Krillin. Maybe now Vegeta would be more at ease and allow Yajirobe a moment alone.

Gohan was sitting on a rock as he waited for his friends to get back. He had sensed a strong power-level shortly after his friends had went away. It was followed by a spike in Vegeta's power. Apparently, the two of them were fighting one another.

And yes, his suspicions turned out to be true. Vegeta's power level had grown since when he had arrived on Earth. He could sense the power-level of the other fighter vanish shortly after.

Next, he had sensed two more, stronger, power-levels come and go. It was a bit confusing to the half-Saiyan. The boy certainly was amazed at the number of powerful fighters this planet hosted.

All this while, he hoped that his friends would stay safe and would get back soon along with Yajirobe.

Soon, he could feel another, familiar, power-level returning. The boy stood up as he saw a figure appear on top of the cliff. "Mr Popo!" he exclaimed, beaming.

The fat man descended to the ground holding the large can of fuel oil with him. "Good job looking after the spaceship, Gohan."

"Actually, I didn't really have to do anything. This planet is quite..silent." 'A far cry from the hustle-bustle life of Planet Earth,' the boy further thought. It was strange for such a fertile and inhabitable area like the one they were on..to be not having a single living creature.

"Yes, I know," said Mr Popo. "It's been the same way for centuries."

Gohan was amazed. "Just how old are you, Mr Popo?"

"Eighty-five. Though I don't look like it. Do I?," stated Mr Popo. "I have just read some of Khami's history books. That's all."

"Wow," mouthed Gohan.

"By the way, Gohan. We are going to get your dad here."

Gohan looked amazed. "What?"

Vegeta was smiling. He could sense Zarbon and Dodoria now. He had learnt to sense power-levels. It was something he picked up during his fight on Earth.

Soon, the pair of henchmen landed in front of him.

Zarbon was looking serious while Dodoria had a nasty grin on his face. Vegeta smirked. 'Well, Dodoria is almost always like that.'

Zarbon narrowed his eyes. "Vegeta," he said. "We have completed our end of the deal. How about you complete yours?"

With a smirk, Vegeta took out his chequebook. The prince took out a pair of pre-written cheques and held them out in his hand. "Here. Come and take it."

Zarbon looked at Dodoria. Dodoria nodded and walked forward to collect the cheques.

The pink alien was chuckling as he walked towards the prince. "Ah.. love me some fat money..."

Just when Dodoria was near to Vegeta, the prince ignited ki in his hand. The cheques were turned to ashes.

Dodoria was shocked. "WHAT?!"

Zarbon looked surprised as well. "Vegeta!"

The prince chuckled. "You think I will be foolish enough to waste any more money than I already have on you trash?! Unfortunately for you, I still have the Ginyu force to take care of."

Dodoria gnashed his teeth with anger.

Zarbon scowled. "Vegeta. You better stay true to your word. We will make you pay with your life if you don't."

Vegeta smirked. "About that. I don't plan to let you get away alive from this either."

Zarbon gnashed his teeth.

Suddenly, both his and Dodoria's scouters started going haywire.

Vegeta was powering-up. The prince screamed with effort and ecstacy as his aura flared around him. "Now, with Frieza dead, nobody in the universe will be able to stand up to me!" he shouted.

Wind kicked up from his aura.

Both Krillin and Yamcha were finding it hard to stand their ground as Vegeta's power skyrocketed.

Yajirobe, meanwhile, was sent tumbling towards the huge rock/boulder behind which his friends were hiding. He woke up with a start as he collided with it.

Vegeta was watching Yajirobe closely as he powered up. If the fat man tried to get away during this, he would make him pay.

Both Krillin and Yamcha wanted to speak out to their friend and tell him that they were here. But couldn't dare due to Vegeta closely watching in their direction.

SCREECH!

Both Zarbon and Dodoria's scouters exploded from overheating.

Finally, Vegeta calmed down, having completed his show of power and energy.

Dodoria looked surprised, scared even, as he began to take steps backwards. "Twenty-four thousand!? No! You were never above even sixteen thousand! How could it be?!"

Vegeta snickered out loud. "While you and Zarbon were sitting on your behinds, growing soft, I was constantly struggling in battle! I have been on the frontline for all these years, honing my abilities! I have been to the brink of death and back again! What would you expect?"

Zarbon had his brows furrowed. "Dodoria," he said. "Calm down. With the both of us together, we can defeat this monkey."

Vegeta laughed out loud. "Hahaha! Somebody has high hopes."

Dodoria looked amazed at Zarbon's statement. "Are you out of your mind, Zarbon? Twenty four thousand! There's no way either of us can compete with that!"

"Stop being such a coward, Dodoria," scolded Zarbon. The teal-skinned alien then charged towards Vegeta, throwing up dust behind him.

Vegeta smirked as he saw Zarbon approach.

With a yell, Zarbon had begun to attack Vegeta with a flurry of punches and kicks.

Vegeta was blocking and dodging the attacks before he himself went on the offensive.

Zarbon barely dodged a punch as it went over his shoulder. However, next, Vegeta's knee had crashed into his abdomen.

Zarbon bent forward in pain before he angrily punched Vegeta on the jaw, sending him back.

DISHOO!

A cloud of smoke hung where Vegeta was a second before.

Dodoria, who was in the air, laughed out loud, satisfied by his beam attack. Next, he began to throw a barrage of ki blasts in that direction. Dodoria was ecstatic as he continued to attack, the cloud of smoke getting larger and larger. However, someone clearing his throat behind him caused Dodoria to become wide-eyed.

The pink monster grunted with pain as both of his arms were forcibly pulled back.

Vegeta chuckled as he floated in the air behind him, clasping on to the huge arms of Dodoria. "You never did fight like a man," the prince said before pulling Dodoria's arms even closer behind his back.

Dodoria shrieked with pain.

Vegeta furrowed his brows. He could see Zarbon coming towards him. The prince rotated on his place and threw Dodoria upon the oncoming Zarbon.

Meanwhile, Krillin picked up a pebble and threw it towards Yajirobe. It hit Yajirobe on the head.

The fat man clasped his head with surprise and pain. He turned around angrily. At the far end of the huge boulder, he could see the head and face of Krillin peeping. ...Krillin?

Krillin motioned Yajirobe to come near him.

Yajirobe laughed out loud before happily complying.

However, a blast collided with the ground in front of him, throwing him back.

"Didn't I warn you not to leave without permission?!" shouted Vegeta, who was floating in the air with a hand extended.

Yajirobe looked fear-struck as he gulped.

Meanwhile, Zarbon and Dodoria had recovered and had risen up to Vegeta's level.

Zarbon looked towards his partner. "Dodoria. Let me handle him from this point."

Dodoria was surprised. "Huh?"

Vegeta was standing with his arms crossed on his chest. He chuckled lightly. From what he had seen from the both of them up till this moment...he was confident that this fight won't last long

Zarbon smiled wickedly. "Vegeta. What you have seen of me up to now...was nothing but a facade."

Vegeta raised an eyebrow.

Zarbon chuckled lightly. "What you have witnessed till now was just the beauty...but now...you are going to see the beast."

Vegeta's face adorned a serious look for a few seconds before he cackled with laughter. "Hahaha! What are you going to do? Make faces at me and hope for me to run away? I knew you were never very smart, Zarbon, but this... this is too much! Bwaahaaha!"

Zarbon grinned. "Oh. How I hate to use this form. But sometimes it becomes a necessity."

Dodoria looked surprised as well. He had no idea what Zarbon was talking about. He had been with him for so many years, he thought he knew everything important about him. He hoped Zarbon wasn't just bluffing.

Zarbon turned towards Dodoria. "Dodoria. You go down there and deal with that fat friend of Vegeta's."

Dodoria nodded, grinning. Zarbon truly was seeming confident. Whatever the case, it was time for his favorite job...devouring the small fries..hehe.

The pink blob dashed downward towards Yajirobe.

Vegeta growled. "Not on my watch!" The prince too dashed in that direction, hoping to intercept Dodoria mid-way.

However, in a second, Zarbon's muscles bulged, his teeth turned into fangs and his face transformed into a hideous one.

Before Vegeta knew it, Zarbon's boot had collided with his cheek, sending him flying.

Meanwhile, Dodoria opened his mouth wide, aiming to fire a blast.

However, just as he was about to, someone had grabbed Yajirobe and flown to the side.

Dodoria had to fire the blast anyway since it was too late to hold back. It caused a huge explosion destroying the large boulder placed there into smithereens.

Dodoria turned his head to the side. He could see a short bald man on the ground with his arms around the fat man's shoulders.

Krillin winced with pain. He had barely been able to save Yajirobe from that blast. But the after-effect of the explosion had hurt the both of them. Multiple cuts and bruises marked his body.

Dodoria grinned. 'Some more friends of Vegeta, eh?' He ignited his aura, preparing to charge.

However, suddenly, he felt someone slap him on the back of his head. Dodoria turned around but there was nobody there. It was followed by a slap on his right cheek causing his head to turn to the left. A hit to the chin followed. Next was a slap to the left cheek.

Dodoria growled with frustration. Finally, he managed to look at what was attacking him. It was a small ball of ki. Dodoria opened his mouth wide and gobbled the ball up. But then, instead of dissipating, the ki ball exploded inside his mouth. Dodoria coughed uncontrollably. It did not hurt much, but it felt and tasted horrible.

Yamcha was sweating as he could see his attack finally come to an end. He was standing far away from the pink monster but not so far that he couldn't see. He extended his hand and prepared to form another spirit ball attack.

It was then that Dodoria spotted him. Yamcha sweatdropped before blasting away at full speed.

Yajirobe, meanwhile, had fallen unconscious. Krillin tried to shake him awake but it was of no use. The bald fighter stood up. He could see that Dodoria was about to give Yamcha a chase. Krillin raised both of his hands and began to charge them with energy.

Meanwhile..

An angry Vegeta had regained his footing. The prince was fuming with rage. But before he knew it Zarbon had crashed into him. Vegeta's mouth fell open as Zarbon's knee collided with his lower abdomen. "Akh!" Zarbon then clasped Vegeta's head and slammed it into the soil. He ran several feet with Vegeta's head inside the rocky turf. Next, the teal-skinned jumped upwards and fired a thick beam of energy down towards the ground.

Vegeta pulled back his head from the ground, his face full of blood, and fired a ki wave below which propelled him diagonally upwards, barely dodging Zarbon's attack in the process. However, his voice was caught in his throat as suddenly he was elbowed in his lower back. Before he could recover Zarbon had kneed him in the stomach.

The teal-skinned monster then began to beat Vegeta like a rag-doll, showering him with heavy blows all over the body. "I used this very form to destroy your father as well! Oh how history repeats itself."

"Akgh!" Vegeta's forehead collided with Zarbon's. Zarbon then began to repeatedly collide Vegeta's forehead with his, causing the prince to scream and bleed.

Meanwhile, Dodoria ignited his aura and flew in the direction of Yamcha. However, just then a thick yellow beam of energy overtook him. Next, it took a U-turn and directly came towards him.

Dodoria smiled at the slow speed of the oncoming attack. However, before reaching him the beam split into multiple smaller beams which came at him from up, below, left, right and centre. He barely put up a defense as they collided with his form.

A cloud of smoke was thrown up.

This was their chance. Krillin grabbed the unconscious Yajirobe and blasted off in the direction Yamcha had went.

...

Zarbon pulled back his fist and crashed it into Vegeta's jaw. Next, he hit him downwards with a haymaker.

KADAAM!

With a loud crash, Vegeta collided near the edge of the island. A cloud of dust was thrown up. When it cleared a huge crater could be seen where Vegeta had crashed. Soon, the crater made connection with the ocean, causing it to become filled with sea-water.

Zarbon floated in the air, carefully looking downwards. He doubted Vegeta was surviving that. The prince not getting to the surface and no movement under water assured him further... Vegeta was dead.

Meanwhile, the curtain of smoke surrounding Dodoria had cleared. The pink alien was grinning, anticipating the shocked looks he was going to receive for being unhurt. However, there was no one there.

They had gotten away!

"Dodoria!" called out Zarbon who had now transformed back into his normal appearance. "After them!"

Dodoria nodded before blasting away.

...

Krillin and Yamcha were flying side by side. Yamcha was the one now holding on to Yajirobe, Krillin having taken some damage by Dodoria's attack earlier. Suddenly, they could feel somebody coming behind them.

"Oh man!" exclaimed Yamcha. "We have got to be faster."

Krillin looked behind him. He could see Dodoria coming at them with a grin. 'Why would you have to look?' Krillin said to himself. 'Just keep going.'

Suddenly, they could feel a beam of energy approaching them.

Yamcha shouted. "Watch out!"

Krillin barely dodged. However, the second attack was coming towards Yamcha.

Yamcha gritted his teeth. He tried to dodge but the beam still grazed his shoulder. "Argh!" Yamcha winced with pain as he dropped Yajirobe.

Both Krillin and Yamcha stopped in their tracks as they saw Yajirobe fall towards the sea. However, the fat man was caught by the green haired alien.

"No!" Krillin exclaimed. Before he and Yamcha could react however, Dodoria was upon them. The pink monster had his arms stretched away from his side like an aeroplane and with them, he hit the mid-sections of both Krillin and Yamcha. Blood was sent flying out of both of their mouths and they were sent crashing into a rock formation on the nearby land.

Dodoria snickered. He then raised both his hands into the air, charging them with energy. With a grunt he fired his attack.

"NOOO!" Krillin screamed as he saw the thick beam of energy come towards them.

Yamcha closed shut his eyes as well, waiting for the end.

.

.

"MASENKO HA!"

DISHOO!

Dodoria's attack was forced to detonate mid-way due to a yellow beam of energy colliding with it.

The pink blob confusedly looked around.

BAM!

Dodoria was flung to the side due to a kick colliding with his temple. "What the-?!"

A young boy was floating in the air, with his teeth gritted and shaking with anger. Gohan growled as he could see Dodoria regain his balance after just a few dozen metres.

Zarbon was watching the boy with interest. What was he seeing? ..A tail? ..Dodoria looked taken aback as he rubbed his temple.

Gohan immediately raised his hands to his forehead. "Masenko...HA!" Another beam of ki shot forwards from his hands.

Dodoria smirked before, with a mighty yell, he punched at the beam, deflecting it to the side.

Gohan stood shaking with his arms outstretched. 'Oh no. What am I gonna do now?' he thought to himself. He had poured a whole lot of energy into that attack.

Dodoria extended his hand towards Gohan. "This is how it's done. HA!" A pink beam of energy shot towards the boy.

Gohan's mouth dropped open. However, just in the nick of time, somebody had grabbed his leg and pulled him downwards, out of harm's way. The boy was pulled all the way down towards the ground. Gohan looked with gratitude towards his helper. "Thanks, Yamcha!"

Yamcha put up a weak smile, although blood leaked from multiple wounds across his body. "No problem, kid. But next time...don't be lazy to dodge, okay?"

Gohan nodded.

Zarbon smirked. "This boy.. he's a Saiyan. Aighn't he?"

Dodoria observed Gohan carefully. "I think you are right, Zarbon. Lord Frieza should be pleased to meet him."

Zarbon chuckled.

Dodoria then began to slowly descend towards where Gohan and Yamcha stood. The boy was standing in his place, firm in determination and shaking with anger while the scar-faced fighter stood panting and didn't look in any condition to fight. Yamcha looked at Gohan. 'Why's he just standing there?' "Run away, Gohan!" he shouted.

Gohan gritted his teeth. He didn't know what he could do against the pink blob but he could not run away either. These guys were way too fast from what he had seen.

Dodoria was slowly approaching them with a frown. However, he stopped and blinked when someone appeared in front of him.

With a zap of energy, Krillin had made his way in front of Dodoria. The turtle-school fighter was grinning despite his injuries.

Yamcha was puzzled. "What's he doing?" 'Could he be?'

Dodoria was confused. This bald guy survived his attack as well? With a scowl he pulled back his fist.

Yamcha immediately put his hands over Gohan's eyes and shut his eyes as well.

Krillin smirked. 'Take this, baby.' "SOLAR FLARE!"

A striking white light filled the entire area.

Dodoria was affected head on. It took his body a moment to register the pain before he howled in agony, holding his eyes.

"What the-" Zarbon buried his face in his elbow but still held Yajirobe with his other hand.

Krillin looked towards Gohan and Yamcha. "This is our chance! Come on! Go!"

Immediately all three had blasted away.

One minute later...

Slowly, the pain subsided enough for Zarbon to open his eyes. He looked around him. Those punks! They had got away.

Dodoria was still finding it hard to keep his eyes open.

Zarbon looked around him. 'Where would they go?' He knew that without knowing the direction they had went in, finding them on this planet would be like trying to find a needle in a hay-stack. If only their scouters had been intact..

Dodoria too had now recovered. He was fuming. With a grunt, he shot a mouth-beam in front of him. It went on for some distance before disappearing from view.

"It's no use, Dodoria," said Zarbon. "Let's head back to the ship. We can find them through the scouters then."

Dodoria was growling. But he knew that what Zarbon said was true.

Zarbon held Yajirobe under his arm. The teal-skinned alien spoke. "I guess we can make fatty talk after getting him healed in the ship. We need to know how Vegeta got his hands on Syanide."

Dodoria nodded.

Soon both the henchmen had blasted off back in the direction of their spaceship.

Goku and Tien walked towards the edge of Khami's place, preparing to leave when a helicopter arrived there.

Both of them were puzzled before they sensed the energy of the driver.

Goku grinned. "Master Roshi!"

Soon, Master Roshi had landed and hopped out. However, the old man didn't look jolly at all. "Goku..Tien..are you two headed anywhere?"

Goku nodded. "Yes. We are headed to the planet Namek."

Master Roshi immediately turned blue in the face. "DON'T GO!"

Goku's mouth dropped open. Khami and Korin looked confused as well.

Tien frowned. "What's the matter, Master Roshi?"

The old man was trembling. "I had... a dream last night..and it was terrible.."

Tien gritted his teeth.

The old man continued. "And...yes it did involve the planet known as Namek. A scary sight it was. A large horned creature was there. And he was tearing the both of you apart. Limb by limb..."

Goku looked aghast. "What?!"

Korin scoffed. "Oh come on, Roshi. Why so much fuss about a dream?"

Roshi looked totally serious. "Many of my dreams have come true in the past as well. That's why.. I beg the both of you. Please...don't go.."

Tien was shaking, his teeth gritted. He too had had some terrible dreams in the hyperbolic time chamber but he had mostly dismissed them off his mind.

Khami was observing the matter with silence. Finally, he spoke. "Running away from destiny is futile."

Everybody turned to look at the old Namekian.

Khami continued. "If death is written for you at a particular place and time, there is simply no way of escaping it. Taking precautions is a good thing to do but one must not leave what is right because of them. Go to Namek and put your trust in God..."

Goku nodded. He felt the same. "I will, Khami."

Tien looked down. "Yeah."

Master Roshi's brow twitched but he had no answer to what Khami had just said.

Khami continued. "Shall I tell you a story if you please..?"

Everybody remained silent before Goku nodded. "Sure."

Khami cleared his throat. "Ahem..There was once a man who was feeling overly anxious in his home-town Bokara. One day when he was roaming the streets, he came upon a person..seeing whom he was immediately terrified. The person looked totally surprised to see him as well. The man immediately rushed to his home, panicking. He knew in his heart that the person he had seen was the angel of death. So the very day, he went with the fastest available caravan to a far-away city, Somaro. Five days later, he arrived at his destination. However, there, he found the same person waiting for him at the doorstep. The angel of death collected the man's soul, following which he dropped dead."

All the people were listening silently.

"You know why the angel of death was surprised when he saw him the first time?"

Goku shook his head.

"It was because he had been assigned to collect his soul in Somaro and so was surprised to see him roaming the streets in Bokara just a week before."

"Whoa," said Master Roshi.

"While I am not entirely certain about the authenticity of this incident, the one true thing that we learn from it is: there is no escaping your destiny. Therefore, it is best to spend your life doing righteous deeds so that atleast you can live in eternal peace and happiness afterwards."

Master Roshi ran his hand through his beard. "Hmm. That's some deep stuff there."

"Yes, Master Roshi," said Goku.

Tien punched his palm. "It's settled then. We are going to Namek. PTO will not even know what hit them!"

Khami smiled. "That's the spirit!"

Korin was still looking apprehensive about the whole matter. However, he did not dare to speak. He didn't want to be preached by any of them. Never had he thought that his demand to have Yajirobe rescued was going to snowball into something this big...they were going to clash with the strongest known empire in the galaxy...!

To be continued...

Author's note: Powerlevels:

Cui: 17,000

Dodoria: 21,000

Zarbon: 23,000

Vegeta (full power): 24,500

Zarbon (transformed): 35,000

Krillin: 5,800

Krillin (Scatter shot): 7,100

Yamcha: 5,600

Yamcha (Spirit Ball): 6,500

Gohan: 5,550

Gohan (enraged): 18,500

Gohan (Masenko): 20,500

Goku: ?

Tien: ?

Frieza: ?

Can Krillin, Yamcha, and Gohan hang on long enough for Goku to get there? Find out, next time, on DBZ:ONE!