"Holy… You really do look like Kakarot." Chayote mumbled to herself once she approached Bardock who sat by the temple wall, sulking in the shade. Seeing him so somber and poignant made the Saiyan wonder how she had ever counted on punching this guy in the face in the first place.
"Kakarot…?" Bardock looked up, his face still looked mournful though a meager shade of surprise colored the deep blue canvas.
"Yeah, I'm a Saiyan too," Chayote sighed and rolled her eyes, realizing that she'd have to explain that whole thing to the mourning and self-loathing father. When she thought of Goku's father as this looming threat to be avoided, she never imagined him to be capable of something so human and reductive as self-pity.
"You… How?" Bardock mumbled to himself.
Chayote extended her hands to the side and let her tail flap freely in his sight. It was one accessory of her heritage that she felt too proud of to get rid of, unlike Son Goku, so part of her loved showing off her tail to a fellow Saiyan who understood its significance and must have shared the pride in their mutual upbringing.
"Don't mind my clothes, those are Babarian, I ruled Planet Babari as sort of a queen before coming here. Anyway, have the Earthlings explained what the Dragon Balls are? We're going to bring Kakarot back to life so you can stop writhing here and feeling sorry for yourself and be useful by helping us fight the other Saiyans," Chayote said in a tough tone.
"The Dragon Balls… I've heard the Earthlings mentioning it from time to time. Can they really bring a person back to life?" Bardock wondered.
There was a very iffy problem with explaining what the Dragon Balls were to a Saiyan. Saiyans worked hand in hand with Lord Frieza and while Chayote felt confident in her current strength to fend off most Saiyans that she could recall encountering, not even in her wildest dreams did Chayote ever see herself standing in front of Lord Frieza in defiance of the tyrant.
"Yes. When all seven of them are gathered and a password is said, a dragon appears. If you perform a special handshake with it and wink the right way – it realizes the deepest desire you might have," Chayote decided to tell the truth where it was useful to her and embellish a thing or two around the full picture just in case Bardock would become an enemy once again.
"Then we have to collect them. I can be the one performing the ritual, in case none of you want it hard enough. You may laugh at me, as a Saiyan, but I didn't mean to kill Kakarot," Bardock gave Chayote a demeaning look, thinking that she'd be more akin to following the classical attitude of most Planet Vegeta warriors about familial bonds and meaningless attachments.
"You didn't?" Chayote raised an eyebrow.
"No, I just thought he was lying to himself about being close with all these Earthlings and this planet. I turned into the Great Ape because I thought he'd become the Great Ape too, just like me, but… Somehow… He had lost his tail here on Earth," all life seemed to evaporate from Bardock's eyes when the Saiyan recalled his meeting with his son. He couldn't bear it to look Chayote in the eyes either, choosing to instead try and stare a hole into the cold, stone staircase further from him that led to the outer area of the God Temple.
"Yeah, I can relate to that. Kakarot is such a softie and he used to be such a puny weakling as a kid that I nearly ended up killing him myself a few times during our training," Chayote shrugged.
"You… You take my son's life so bluntly as if it's some meaningless thing." Bardock growled.
"Sorry, I guess life just doesn't seem the same when some of us have been brought back to it from the Otherworld once already. I, for one, came back without the aid of the Dragon Balls, believe it or not," Chayote smirked. "Though the Dragon Balls are essential if Kakarot is to come back to life and if those other Saiyans destroy the Earth – that will be impossible."
"The other Saiyans?" Bardock's gaze widened in fearful shock.
"You didn't have reinforcements waiting on standby, I take it?" Chayote sighed. "What are the odds that two parties of Saiyans would discover this faraway, useless rock outside Frieza Army space?"
"It's no coincidence at all…" Bardock stood up and stared off at a blank point in the distance. "We must have been followed."
"You mean some pair of Saiyans decided to steal the glory of your kills from under your nose? Doesn't quite sound like something that a Saiyan would do, maybe some low-class thug, but these guys have some wild Ki. I'd imagine that they are the Saiyan elite." Chayote crossed her arms.
"King Vegeta… That bastard! He must have been on to us. We were pushing it with each day that we've postponed our coup and it seems like our luck had run out. Even if we did eliminate every warrior on this planet, it's likely that these guys would have attacked us and wiped us out," Bardock clenched his fists. "You said there were two of them?"
"That's right, I saw two Attack Balls on my way to Earth and right now I feel a pair of powerful Ki incoming somewhere near North City," Chayote nodded.
"Then it might not be King Vegeta… It is more than possible that it was Frieza himself that discovered our plot to overthrow King Vegeta. The Saiyans coming down here are none other than Nappa and Prince Vegeta, Frieza's own lapdogs," Bardock's face turned sour in wrath. For good reason too, evidently, his plot to overthrow King Vegeta had just poofed into smoke with the revelation that Frieza himself knew about it.
It wasn't entirely clear why, given how much visible hatred Lord Frieza had for the Saiyan race whenever he appeared in person on Planet Vegeta, but the space tyrant had a liking to the race and was quite protective of them in general. Most Saiyans believed that while Frieza was rude and brutal to the Saiyans, he still thought highly of their potential to accomplish great things for him and that was why he tolerated the Saiyans despite some deeper, more personal distaste for the entire warrior race.
"You plan to overthrow King Vegeta… Why?" Chayote wondered. She herself still felt more than just a soft spot for her king and would have done his bidding, depending on the content of his request, if he appeared before her and demanded it, despite not being under his direct control for over a decade now.
"You're a loyalist at heart? I can't say I blame you, I myself used to respect King Vegeta a great deal back in the day. But that was before he himself became weak and began relying on Frieza. It used to be the Saiyan way to confront adversity, challenge it, and overcome through punching it with ever-increasing strength until the wall in our way toppled down into rubble. Now the puny king just asks Frieza to blast that wall for him and whines like a bitch when he doesn't get his way. Our entire race rots with our bitch king. I don't really care about ruling it, but I want something to change." Bardock explained with a more serious expression. "That is why I want to ask you to leave Prince Vegeta to me."
"I've got no problem with that," Chayote shrugged.
"Hmph… I'm not sure when it was that you left Planet Vegeta, but it seems that the wobbly-legs-way of our king has rubbed off on you too. No self-respecting Saiyan would have denied themselves a challenge like that," Bardock smirked as he began examining what remained of his armor and wristbands.
"Are you being pissy about me agreeing with you?" Chayote growled in irk.
"Just making an observation… I'm actually overjoyed about it," Bardock chuckled to himself. "Any other day our squad would have fled in fright from the little prince. The last we've heard of him, his power level was well over 20 000, that was a few years ago too. I wouldn't be shocked if he'd be able to wipe the floor with even Frieza's two main cronies if he got especially whiny and hurt about his master not throwing him enough bones."
"Frankly, I'm not very sure what the power level of 20 000 means to me anymore," Chayote shrugged. "I haven't measured the strength of my enemies in power levels for too many years. Maybe it's something impressive and maybe it's just something I'd consider a punching bag. I won't be able to say until I get to punch it."
"Now you're talking like a Saiyan," Bardock smiled through the beaming, violent wickedness leaking from the rest of his expression. The two Saiyans left the God Temple together, walking alongside one another before Piccolo turned his nose up in a display of his resentment of the recovered Saiyan.
"Bardock is going to help us fend off the Saiyans. He understands that the Earth needs to stay intact in order for his son to come back to life," Chayote pointed at the half-naked Saiyan behind her, Piccolo reared his sharp fangs before raising his hand up. While the elevating Ki signature in his body would have indicated a mean to attack the Saiyan, the overall level of power he was showcasing didn't suggest that he truly meant to injure, maim or kill Bardock.
It was not a Ki blast that left Piccolo's hand but instead a golden gleam of a Ki beam emanating from his bent fingers that surrounded Bardock in an ethereal, glowing aura. The golden shine flashed once in bright light and once it settled down Bardock's armor was restored. The Saiyan patted his armored chest, examining the material.
"It's not as tough as the original…" he observed. "I guess not even Namekian sorcery can duplicate Saiyan technology."
"Hmph, I don't want you to catch a cold and die. You seeing your son again in the Otherworld is the last thing I want to happen," Piccolo spoke with resentment. "I know how sensitive and frail you alien types are to Earth's diseases…"
"You do realize you're an alien too, right, Namekian?" Bardock smirked at his green-skinned rival only for Piccolo to turn his head in dismissal.
"Maybe the Nameless Namekian once was an alien but a feeble-minded simpleton like you wouldn't comprehend what I am. I'll say it once and I hope I'm understood, I am the reincarnation of the Demon King Piccolo and the only reason we'll be fighting the Saiyans together is that I want the Earth for myself to rule but also, just a little bit, because I enjoy the thought of crushing your kind," Piccolo hissed.
"Just how on Earth did we end up fighting alongside so many of our past enemies?" Tenshinhan sighed, "Then again, I am the one to talk…"
"Enemies or not, we share a common goal – to protect the Earth!" Upa declared, becoming the focus of everyone's attention when the Kami left his God Temple after being absent.
"Don't tell me you're going to fight too, shrimp. You'll get yourself killed," Piccolo smirked with a mocking grin.
Before anyone could reply anything to the cocky reincarnation of the Demon King, the sky in the horizon dyed blood-red, disturbing the darkening melancholy of the evening. Everyone on the God Temple could feel the brewing of the next inevitable conflict.
"What's happening?" the sharp glare in Bardock's eyes and his confidence had evaporated in a blink when the Saiyan realized that he couldn't keep up with the Ki sensory of the local protectors of Earth.
"The Saiyans have begun their attack," Krillin stated it bluntly. "Again…"
"There's a whole lot of them!" Yamcha took a frightened step back with his skin becoming pale. "Like a whole army, or something…"
"Hmph, so the little puppy went barking to his master and asked for some help?" Bardock snickered to himself, enjoying the thought of young Vegeta relying on Frieza's soldiers to fight his battles for him but loathing it at the same time as a signifier of how low the Saiyan elite have stooped.
"No. It's not the Frieza Army, though their power levels are similar. I might not have gotten the chance to sense their Ki but… In their Ki, I recognize that feeling that I once had when fighting these things. It's Saibamen," Chayote declared.
"Saibamen? As strong as the Frieza Army?" Bardock looked at Chayote confused.
"Yeah, their strength depends on the soil they're grown from. Earth is vastly more fertile than Planet Vegeta," Chayote nodded. "The Saibamen grown here might be twice as powerful as those you might have encountered on other planets."
"Hmph, I don't care either way. My enemy is Vegeta!" Bardock roared out, letting all of his Ki rage at once. Even at the grand altitude of the God Temple, his evolved power sent shockwaves and rippled the temple floor just by him getting serious on the temple. Without having any clue where he was going, Bardock blasted off in the direction where everyone had been looking.
"Chayote… Who are these Saibamen, who's this Vegeta guy?" Krillin wondered.
"Saibamen are cultivated warriors. They grow from the soil they're planted in and can be used for sparring or as a cheap fighting force though their seeds are somewhat too rare to be used for military purposes. Trust me, you can't miss them. I'll be helping you fight," Chayote declared.
"Huh? You won't be attacking the Saiyans themselves?" Yamcha wondered.
"I don't want to fight Vegeta, plus, I've got some issues left to settle with those pea-brain bastards," Chayote turned away and tried to focus her mind on her hatred for Saibamen rather than the conflict of facing Saiyan royalty at this moment.
"Chicken…" Piccolo mocked Chayote. "Fine, I'll eliminate the other Saiyan for you while you keep their henchmen busy."
"Hmm… So, this rock is Earth?" Nappa looked around. With an excited grin, he raised two of his fingers up, reducing the North City to nothing but dirty rubble and leaving the pair of Saiyans floating over a massive, city-sized crater. "Heh, this planet is falling apart by us just flexing our muscles. It seems the gravity here is so pathetic that we can just fly freely without even realizing it. I don't understand why we didn't blow this rock up from sky-high."
"Shut up, Nappa," Vegeta silenced his lackey. "It's our job to eliminate the rebels for my father and Frieza. The Saiyan elite don't do sloppy guesswork. Look carefully into your scouter and tell me if nothing seems out of the ordinary."
"Huh? No way… Those power levels are puny!" Nappa laughed out. "Who knew that Bardock aligned himself with such weaklings, I've seen trainees with higher power levels!"
"Think for a second, you imbecile, why are these power levels so small?" Vegeta hissed.
"Umm… That one fool sounded really desperate on the scouter transmission. Maybe they got wiped out?" Nappa patted his bald head in a rhythmic melody while he contemplated what he was asked to put together.
"Of course they were wiped out!" Vegeta yelled out. "But look around, what were they wiped out by!? Where is it in our readings? There's something very odd going on here. Until Bardock himself utters his reason for coming here to me with his final breath and we see each one of his scumbag pals dead before our eyes, neither Frieza, my King father nor my Saiyan pride will accept this job as complete."
"I see… There are a lot of measly power levels around. If we're not blowing every city up one by one, we could plant some Saibamen," Nappa suggested, pulling out a vial filled with green, pea-sized seeds. "The dirt here seems soft and exceptionally fertile. Maybe Bardock meant to cultivate an army of Saibamen himself here?"
"Now you're beginning to use your head, Nappa," Vegeta cracked a grin. "Go ahead, it would get awfully boring blowing up every tiny city bit by bit. Lousy rebel shitstains, getting themselves so injured that I can't tell them apart from local rabble! What an embarrassment for the entire Saiyan race!"
"Heh… I guess with the utter weakling that his son turned out to be, no wonder Bardock would consider Saibamen to be a worthwhile threat to his enemies!" Nappa joined in on the spiteful mockery of the rebellious Saiyans as he planted the Saibamen seeds in the dirt that he had left from North City. Even the cold ground of the northern regions felt soft, compared to the alien worlds that the Saiyans had visited throughout their lives and the inhospitable conditions that bred all the fine warriors the bodies of which they paved their current strength in.
Handfuls upon handfuls of green, tiny humanoids rose to their feet sprouting from the ground. The biotechnological weaponry of the space military cackled and shrieked, clanged their large claws together, and stomped the ground in hunger for violence and murder.
"Go, kill…" Nappa stood tall behind the cultivars and raised his arms up into the air. "Seek strong opponents and slay them all! Force those in hiding out from their holes!"
The army of Saibamen leaped and dashed out of the massive crater, looking for the nearest lives they could destroy and spreading across the area like the plague. More and more burst forth from the ground until they comprised a small platoon. This was an exceptional amount of rather rare and worthwhile biological weaponry that the Saiyans were sacrificing for their venture though these Saibamen seemed a great deal stronger than those they've encountered elsewhere so it seemed to be worth the hassle at this time.
"Say, Vegeta, there ain't that many of them. It's gonna take them at least four days to decimate the whole planet all by themselves…" Nappa turned to his superior with a questioning glare.
"I'm not moving a finger until this planet produces a worthy challenger. I am in no rush…" Vegeta smirked with a cruel smile, looking forward to the light show that their Saibamen would soon raise.
"Yeah, I understand that, but maybe we should have given them a scouter or something to track the bigger power levels?" Nappa dragged his hand across his bald head, rubbing it as if it would help him coat it with hair.
"Saibamen are mindless drones. They can obey orders just fine but even a measly scouter would blow their minds. Our technology is as wasted on them as it would be on these pathetic locals, it seems," Vegeta looked around, recalling the cute level of technologic development that he saw Nappa reduce to rubble a few minutes earlier. "Though, I suppose, we could assist them a little bit by directing their rampage toward the highest power levels."
The pair of Saiyans rose even higher above the ruined ground and blasted off toward the nearest high power level reading.