Author's Note: if you haven't see it already, Chaos Wars began earlier this week! Make sure to go check it out, to see the adventures of Avo Kayos and Goku teaming up with Edwin and the Pharaoh, along with some other crossover fun! But now, the main story!

"I still think we should wait," Chichi said as she watched Bulma go over the controls of the ship for what felt like the tenth time. Bulma though felt better double checking everything, making sure that every bit of machinery was functioning as it should. They were 30 minutes away from landing and she didn't want to risk having some catastrophic failure this close to the end of their journey.

'Except it really isn't the end, is it?' she thought to herself as she made sure that she'd closed all the energy gatherers; the beauty of the Namekian ship was that Senza's people had figured out how to power their ships while flying through space by gathering the natural radiation to was pulsing through the universe, let off by the many stars and other celestial bodies. But she had to make sure the panels designed to gather such radiation were closed when they moved for entry into Namek's atmosphere or they might be in for a world of trouble. The last thing she wanted was for them to lose the panels and find themselves trapped on the alien world.

Even though she had checked several times already and all the systems said the panels were closed she still checked them again…

'You just need something to do to keep your mind off things,' she thought to herself as she looked to make sure that she had all the shielding on the front of the ship ready. 'Because this isn't the end of our journey. Its only the first step.' She looked out through the cockpit's windshield (was it a 'wind' shield if there was no wind?) towards the rapidly growing dot out in the darkness of space. The planet Namek. 'We have no idea what we will encounter there. Senza has no memories of what his home planet… maybe the Namekians are like Kami. Kind and helpful and they will allow us to use their version of the Dragon Balls to bring back Master Roshi.'

She suddenly had a vision of just that…

"Oh, you wish to use the Dragon Balls?" the leader of the Namekians said with a bored shrug. "Sure, go ahead. I think Version Number 217 is charged up and ready to go." He waved his hand towards a truly massive pile of Dragon Balls that was just behind him. "Just remember to wipe them off when you are done!"

'But he was also sent away from his home when he was just a child. No protection, no guardians. Nothing. They might not believe in helping at all…'

"Let you use OUR Dragon Balls?" the leader of the Namekians asked in disgust. "Oh, you expected me to just let you do that? Ha! If you wish to use the Dragon Balls you must prove yourself… by wrestling me in the acid mine!"

'We have no idea what we are going to find ourselves walking into.'

"Bulma!" Chichi exclaimed, causing the scientist to jolt out of her thoughts. "Are you listening to me?"

"…is there any way to admit that I wasn't that will result in you NOT flying into a fit of rage?"

"Excuse me?" Chichi said only for Bulma to shield herself. "What are you doing?"

Slowly dropping her arms Bulma said, "No offense but ever since we found out you were a Saiyan all of us have been a bit… leery of you."

"Leery of-!" Bulma once again raised her arms to protect herself. That got Chichi to take a breath and, in a calmer voice, ask, "Why would you be leery of me? I haven't been acting any different than I was before we learned about…" She gestured at her tail that was wrapped around her waist.

"Yeah, that's true," Bulma admitted. "But the thing is that your little rage moments take on a different tone when we know you have the power to karate chop a mountain in half."

"You aren't afraid of Goku," Chichi pointed out. "You scold him all the time."

"…yeah. Because its Goku."

Chichi quietly conceded the point. "I would never hurt you." She wrapped her arms around herself. "I'm just worried about Goku. And Kayos. They disappeared and we have no idea when they will be back."

Bulma did see her point. She wasn't happy that Goku had rushed into that portal, leaving them behind with the promise of finding them. After all, he had no way of knowing where Namek was; the ship was on autopilot, returning back to where it had come, and despite her, her dad, and Raditz doing all they could they'd been unable to figure out how to download that information so they could figure out exactly where the ship was going. They'd been forced to just trust the vessel… which was worrisome.

But…

"Listen, if there is anyone that can figure it out its Goku," Bulma assured her. "I think he's too stubborn to remain lost. When we first began traveling together half the time it felt like he just spun in a circle and when he stopped he'd just begin walking in that direction. But as frustrating as that was… we always ended up where we needed to be."

Chichi let out a huff at that, sliding into the co-pilot's chair. "I suppose you're right on that. Goku does tend to wander off… but he always finds his way back home."

"Then there is Avo," Bulma said. "I have no idea how his spells work but he's far too cunning to allow himself to get lost. He'll figure out some way to get back to us."

"I just hope he doesn't cause any more trouble," Chichi stated. "Or end up back with the Tree of Might."

Bulma grimaced at that; the locals had been forgiving of them but they had made rather clear if they ever saw Avo Kayos again they'd have words. She just hoped that the Scroll of Knowledge was right and their planet would recover quickly.

"I just don't like being separated from him," Chichi said, rubbing her arms nervously. "Its weird… for so much of our marriage we lived separate lives. Goku would leave to tend to the farm or whatever else he'd do and I'd stay at the house. He'd show up for meals but then head out again. We slept in the same bed but often it felt like we were miles apart. But ever since Raditz first appeared… we haven't been apart for more than a few hours. We understand each other better. I always felt like I had to tug Goku to my side of thinking or he was yanking me towards his views but… we've come together. Met in the middle."

"Doesn't hurt the sex is great too," Bulma teased, Chichi blushing at that.

"Oh, that isn't proper to speak of…"

"Come on, you must have noticed some differences. I know ever since I've begun working out I've felt better about myself and I don't even have a boyfriend."

Chichi was utterly crimson, nibbling on her lower lip even as she said, "Well… it certainly hasn't… hurt things."

Bulma just laughed and after a moment Chichi found herself chuckling as well. Not as loudly as Bulma… but her mood lifted.

"Hey," Bulma said, placing a hand on her friend's shoulder once they'd both settled down, "it will be okay. We'll go to Namek, we'll bring back Master Roshi, and then if they haven't caught up to us we'll find Goku and Avo. None of us are going to leave them behind."

"Thanks," Chichi said before staring out at the planet. "Do we have an idea what we are going to face down there?"

"No but I am ruling some stuff out."

"What do you mean?"

"Okay, so I'm not getting any radio waves. No AM/FM radio. No televisions. Nothing like that. There is no space junk. No satellites or abandoned space craft or space stations. So they don't have things like that. And I'm not detecting any signs of large cities."

"So they might not be as advanced as us?"

"Yes and no. They don't have that stuff… but they did make this ship." Bulma gestured at the craft they were currently sitting in. "And this is old… hundreds of years old. Kami was a baby when he was sent in this to Earth. That means that they could only have gotten better when it came to creating ships."

"Or they made a wish," Chichi reminded her. "They might be more magic based than us. Maybe they used the Dragon Balls in order to wish for this ship to send Kami off. Or Senza." She shook her head; it was still odd to think like that, even after the few weeks they'd spent with the Namekian.

Bulma frowned. "Yeah… I hadn't considered that. I was running under the assumption that they had cleaner energy than us and used something other than radio waves for communicating… but it all might be magic." She groaned. "And of course we don't have Avo here to detect things!"

"Kayos will return to us," Chichi said with a bit of smugness, recalling the words Bulma had just spoke to her.

"Yeah year…" Bulma said before pressing a button on the control panel. "Okay everyone, we are nearing Planet Namek. Get everything secured and ready… we have no idea what kind of greeting will be awaiting us!"

~MC~MC~MC~

Tien looked over at Senza who was in the lotus position, eyes closed. But if anyone thought he was at peace then they truly weren't looking. The way his forehead was creased, how his eyes were shut just a bit too tight, the tension in his shoulders…

It was why Tien had no problem walking up to the Namekian and interrupting him.

"Want to talk about it?" the triclops asked.

Senza didn't open his eyes but his shoulders did drop a touch. "No but I also feel that I should," he muttered in annoyance. "I don't like not knowing what we are going to find down there."

"I'm guessing this is something different from Bulma and the others worrying about getting the Dragon Balls."

Senza nodded, finally opening his eyes. "I was sent away from my home when I was an infant. I have no memory of it. My first memories are of Earth. And yet this is my home… I can feel it. My heart… it calls out to return."

Tien noded. "I can't imagine what that would be like. I think only Goku could really understand."

"Yes. I had tried to discuss it with him but…" More of his Piccolo half shined through as Senza let out a huff. "You know how Goku is. He brushes such things off rather easily. He doesn't let them bother him. He's annoyingly stubborn like that."

"I don't know if its stubbornness… or blockheadedness either." Because Tien had thought that more than once about Goku when he'd tried to discuss some of the personal issues he'd gone through. Him and Chiaotzu had turned against Master Shien and the entire Crane School, the place that was closest to home, and thrown themselves into the wild and strange world where they didn't fully understand the rules. The ones they had ended up being shown to be dishonorable and wrong.

…Goku had just said it was great they were able to be among their friends and moved on.

'I understood him not really dwelling on Yamcha's death because we decided we were bringing him back. But he never really considered what it meant for him to have a brother and not be from Earth. He never really stopped to think about any of that. Same with Master Roshi. Or that there are other Saiyans out there. We thought him and Raditz and Vegeta were the only ones left but Goku… he killed his own uncle. That's rough to begin with but it also means that there may have been more Saiyans who survived. And Goku doesn't… care. He just went off right with Kayos to go save that other world.'

"Sometimes," he finally said, "I can't decide if I should scold him or admire him. He isn't ever crippled with doubt. He knows what he can do, who he is, and that is that. You can't shake him."

"Yes," Senza said. "I do find that a strong quality for him to have. But it also makes him ill suited to discuss such things." Now more of Kami was shining through. "I do not know why I was sent away from Namek. Was it for my own good? Was there some… disaster? Slug didn't know… never spoke of it. And even if he had I wouldn't have trusted him. So was that it? Was there some great disaster and now we will return to find a people in ruin?"

"Raditz mentioned that he's heard of Namekians," Tien pointed out. "Never met one himself…"

"Yes… there is that. We can at least rest easily that we will most likely not land on a deadplanet." Senza though shook his head after a moment. "But then there is the worry and fear that I will not be received warmly."

"What do you mean?"

"Human history is filled with tales of the sins of the father being passed down to the son. What if I wasn't sent to earth… but banished there?"

"Because of something someone else did?"

Senza nodded. "Or… what Raditz mentioned when it came to Goku."

Tien had tried hard to forget that little bit of information. The idea that Goku had been meant to be a world killer, destroying all of humanity just so the Saiyans could then claim the planet? It was… horrifying. Especially after dealing with Turles and seeing a dark, twisted version of Goku.

'If it hadn't been for Grandpa Gohan dropping him on his head…' Goku told the story with a smile and a laugh, claiming it was the first time he'd realized he had a thick skull. But Raditz, when he'd heard that story, had commented that there were reports of Saiyans undergoing massive personality shifts thanks to head wounds. One old man with butterfingers had resulted in Earth's greatest threat becoming its greatest champion.

"What if that was why I was sent to Earth?" Senza asked. "What if, like Goku, I was meant to destroy?"

"I don't believe that."

"Slug was sent to Planet Slug and he wasn't the beacon of kindness."

"Slug also ripped out his goodness." Senza shot him a look and Tien grimaced. "Okay, so you did something similar… but not quite…"

"And that is my final fear, Tien," Senza said. "What if they learn what I did when I was 2 beings? Of King Piccolo's actions? I don't know how I would handle it if I returned to my home only to be told I wasn't worthy of it."

Tien, sadly, didn't have an answer.

~MC~MC~MC~

Vegeta frowned as he stepped out of his pod, looking at the world that lay before him.

'To think that this pathetic, meaningless planet will be the source of my eternal rule,' he thought as he looked about the barren landscape.

He could accept that grand empires could have planets that didn't reflect their greatness. After all, from what he remembered of his own home planet there were vast swatches of it that were little more than rock. But that was because the Saiyans needed places to practice their fighting abilities so such areas were left empty, so there would be no risk to their cities. And the Saiyans, by their very nature, needed to avoid one another often enough lest their feuds explode. Only in the cities where powerful commanders ruled with heavy fists could a large gathering of Saiyans occur and thus the need for massive encampments.

But Namek?

No cities. No grand monuments. No real signs of life at all.

Vegeta toed some of the blue grass he was standing on before looking at the green waters. 'Air is breathable,' he thought to himself. 'Very breathable.' While the pod he had stolen had informed him of that he still always liked to see just HOW breathable the air was. Would it be thin? Heavy? But much to his delight it was the proper mixture for him. Fighting wouldn't be a challenge here. 'Ground is solid enough. No clear mountain ranges but plenty of plateaus. Trees are tall, mostly trunk. Water…' He took out a testing kit and dipped it into the water… after a moment it changed to show that while there was a bit more, of all things, sugar in the water than one might have suspected it was perfectly fine to drink. 'A perfect place for life.'

He knew that there were plenty in Frieza's army that would have been shocked by him doing such readings. Thanks to the likes of Nappa and that traitor Raditz the opinion that Saiyans were just dumb brutes who would rushed head-first into a star without even stopping to realize how hot it was had only grown. But Vegeta had been raised not just to be a fighter but a strategist. A warrior needed to be able to look at a weapon and quickly understand how it worked so they could then take it apart. Know how to repair their pod if it became damaged. How to take over a planet's communication systems so that your broadcast declaring that you were in charge was heard by all. Vegeta knew how to do all of this…

…not that he let anyone realize it.

'One doesn't flaunt their knowledge,' his father had once told him after Vegeta had made the mistake of pointing out an error one of his father's advisors had made. 'That lets people know something about you… and the more they know the more they have available to destroy you.'

Vegeta shook his head. 'I am getting distracted.' He looked about Planet Vegeta, forcing the memories of the past to leave him. 'Low signs of life. Most aquatic.' He closed his eyes and began to focus. 'Now then… where are they…'

Sensing energy had always been something he'd been interested in learning. A vital skill that allowed him to find his targets, be their prey or warriors. But Frieza and his cronies had always frowned upon that skill, seeing it as something that wasn't needed with the scouters. Frieza especially, Vegeta had come to realize, was utterly lazy. He hated to walk and preferred flying around in his little hover pod; even when it was terribly awkward he would do so, demanding that entire ships be altered just to accommodate that. He didn't like using the most basic of non-combative moves because 'there are machines for that!' It was one of the reasons why Vegeta had begun thinking about overthrowing the petulant little fool.

So, in secret, Vegeta had begun to master the art of Energy Sensing. It had taken a lot of work but when he had managed it he had been rather pleased. No longer did he need a scouter in order to find his targets or to see how strong a foe was. He simply could look at them and, with a bit of focus, determine the truth of them.

Which is what he was doing at that moment.

'There,' he thought with a smirk, feeling a concentration of life. 'There is a village there. Or some gathering of the natives.' He rose up into the air before blasting off. 'I will demand answers from them. Should they provide me what I desire I might be inclined to allow them to live. But should they show any resistance…' Vegeta balled his hand up into a fist. After his fight on Earth he had healed… and felt his power increase by leaps and bounds. That, combined with the Mental Training he had done in his pod had left him feeling 10 times stronger than he had been on Earth.

And he was eager to test his limits.

'I will have what I want,' Vegeta thought darkly. 'I will gain what I deserve.'

First he would wish for immortality. Make it that there was nothing anyone could do to prevent him from dominating the universe. Then he would turn the wretched planet he was on into his new capital, the starting part for the Saiyan Empire. Another wish would bring the female Saiyan from Earth to him, where he would be able to get her to understand her place. Clearly Raditz and his brother had filled her head with delusions about what was expected of her and Vegeta would enjoy very much destroying those errors.

'Perhaps, after she has come to see the error of her ways, I will bring her the barely breathing corpses of Raditz and Kakarot. She might torture them to her heart's content… the perfect gift to seal our marriage.' He smirked at that. 'And then… I will begin the process of recreating the Saiyan Race. These Dragon Balls… they are able to do the impossible. I will create new Saiyans, all loyal to me, their eternal king. They will spread across the galaxy, conquering planets all in my name.'

He could see it in his mind's eye. Millions of Saiyans flying away from Namek, the new Planet Vegeta, spreading out through the cosmos. Planets falling to them one by one as they planted a flag with his face upon it in each of their capital worlds. Vegeta, surrounded by glowing orbs, cackling as he used the Dragon Balls to convert the useless sacks of flesh into the biomaterial needed to create even more Saiyans. An entire universe of just his kind, all bending the knee to him while he sat upon his throne, Frieza's head on a spike and the Saiyan female, his queen, loyally kneeling at his side.

'I will have it. I will have all of that. I will bring about a new age of the Saiyan Race!' Vegeta thought as he continued on. 'And there will be no mercy for any that get in my way.'

~MC~MC~MC~

"Now that feels good!" Krillin said, stretching a bit as he stood outside the ship. "Don't get me wrong, Bulma, the ship was great, but it feels so good to actually have some fresh air!" He took in a deep breath, eyes shut as he felt the wind on his face. Raditz, who was near by, couldn't find it in himself to dismiss the bald man or his actions; honestly he was feeling the same way. It was why so many Saiyans came out ready for a fight; after being trapped in their pods for so long any chance to get the heart pumping and the body moving was welcomed.

Though he could have done with the planet not being so… clean. He was managing to get used to Earth but the stench of Namek, with its crips air and lack of pollutants, was rather startling for him. He wasn't used to breathing without the smell of fresh paint that clung to most Frieza Force Ships, the burning of cities, or the hint of radiation for death weapons in the air.

"Man, if we weren't here for business I'd suggest taking a vacation," Krillin continued on saying. "Set up some lawn chairs, maybe get the barbeque going…"

"Of course that's assuming the Namekians would allow it," Senza reminded him. "After all, they could be more like Piccolo than they are Kami."

"…what?" Krillin said nervously, having not thought of that. Senza, for his part, flashed a smile that had Krillin letting out a yelp, much to the amusement of his friends.

"But you think they will be nice, Mr. Senza?" Gohan asked.

Senza looked down at the boy and fondly patted him on the head. "Stick with me, kid, and I'll make sure they are." Gohan beamed at that; with Kakarot gone he had even moreso than normal gravitated towards Senza, knowing that he could protect him. Chichi and him had discussed it, the Namekian not wanting her to be offended that her son was so comfortable around him, and Chichi had assured him it was fine. Raditz wasn't jealous either; it was good for the boy to have different people he relied upon as it would avoid confusion during training. He had mentioned that to Kakarot back on Earth, that Gohan needed to train with people that he couldn't be 100% sure would always protect him. Yes, trust was sometimes important, but just as important was to be on your guard. If you went into every fight believing your opponent would pull their punch then you'd develop bad habits.

"Alright!" Yamcha said, clapping his hands together. "No time like the present! We need to find those Dragon Balls! Hand over the Dragon Radar, Bulma!"

"Yeah… no," she said dryly, causing Yamcha, who had stuck out his hand to get the device, to suddenly topple forward.

"What? What do you mean no?!"

"Because I know as soon as I hand these out half of you are going to go flying off without a second thought!"

"We would never…" Yamcha grimaced. "Okay, that's exactly what we would do."

Bulma nodded. "And we need to do this right. Remember, this isn't Earth. This is a completely alien planet and we need to handle this properly."

That made Raditz scoff. "I say we just find the first Namekian we can find and get them to tell us all about the Dragon Balls."

"How would we do that?" Gohan asked.

"Well," Raditz said with a dark smirk only to freeze up with Chichi glared at him; he had begun to learn that he did NOT want to get on the woman's bad side. Chichi was rather… creative… in how she dealt with people that annoyed her. So his entire speech about how they would blast in, kill the strongest warrior they could find, and use that to dominate the other Namekians was swiftly abandoned. "I think it would be best to rely upon Senza and the others to start…" He repressed a shudder, "…diplomatic relations."

"Exactly!" Bulma declared. "We need to find the local Namekians and first see if they are okay with us searching out the Dragon Balls. Make sure we don't break any rules or the like."

"And there is a chance we might not need to search," Tien pointed out. "They might know right where they are."

"That's right," Yamcha said, his earlier pratfall forgotten. "On Earth a lot of the Dragon Balls were kept as prized relics. They might do the same here."

"The only question now is if we should all go or if we should have some hang back," Bulma stated.

"What do you mean?" Krillin asked. "It's obvious what we should do!"

Tien nodded. "Of course it is."

"I'm glad we're in agreement."

"Completely."

"We shoud go together."/"We should split up."

The two stared at each other as it slowly registered exactly what the other had said.

"What are you talking about?" Krillin exclaimed. "We need to all go together! We have no idea what we might be facing in that village."

"Exactly," Tien stated. "That's why it would be best for some of us to remain here, just in case it is a trap."

"Ooooorrrr we all go together so that if it is a trap we are able to fight our way out. Look at how much better we worked against Turles and Slug when we were together."

Tien nodded. "Yeah, you're right there, but if they had managed to overwhelm us we would have been in a lot of trouble. And because this is an alien planet we can't call upon any help. Goku and Kayos are the only ones that might be able to show up and we have no idea when they will be back."

"Right," Krillin said. "Alien planet we've NEVER been too. That means if we go wandering off we might never be able to find each other again. Who knows how big Namek is."

"I know," Bulma said but Krillin ignored her.

"If we split up we could end up wandering for weeks on end. If we stick together then we'll always know where each other is, be able to quickly help each other…"

"Leave the ship unprotected," Tien commented.

"Actually we are going to send it back up," Bulma said before glancing at Isco. "And lock the controls so Isco can't leave us behind to save himself."

"That is a fair assessment."

"And then there are the locals!" Krillin said. "They won't be happy if we don't bring everyone with us. They will see it as us lying about our numbers."

"Or they will be overwhelmed by everyone we bring with us and that could cause a fight."

"Then why don't we leave a select few here, go to the village, and be honest that we have more of us waiting?" Chiaotzu asked.

Krillin and Tien both considered that. Neither really liked that plan, as there were a lot of issues with it, but it was the best compromise anyone could think of.

"Alright, then who should go?" Chichi asked.

Yamcha was the one that spoke up. "I think Tien, Krillin, and me should go with Senza. Isco, Chichi and Gohan as well."

Chichi frowned at that. "Gohan?"

Yamcha nodded. "Yeah. Gohan will show that we aren't a threat to them. They see us with a kid they will know we aren't just marauders coming to pillage. And Gohan can fight so if things get rough. Tien and Krillin and I know how to fight together so we're the best bet if things do get messy. Senza should come because that might be our in; they see another Namekian and know that we aren't invaders. We were invited. Isco has the best monitoring systems so he can let us know there is trouble as well as relay everything to you guys in real time."

Isco nodded at that. "I have been working on connection my true form to the ship's systems. It was so I could take full control over it but it seems Bulma was smart enough to install firewalls…"

Bulma smirked. "I know you too well, Isco."

Tien let out a huff at that. 'And with Kayos gone Isco's loyalty to us plummets.' Everyone knows that the droid was highly considerate of Avo Kayos with Bulma a close second. But while he was friendly enough with all of them Tien was well aware that Isco still saw all non-robotic life, save for Kayos and Bulma, as disposable and would abandon them the first chance he got.

"As for those staying behind…" Yamcha said, looking at Raditz who huffed.

"Yeah, I get it. If they've heard of Saiyans it might not be wise for me to come storming in there."

'And there is the fact that your first reaction might be to terrorize them,' Tien thought before speaking up. "Chiaotzu and I work best if we are separate, so he can be powering me up. And Bulma can make sure the ship is ready to go if something happens."

"Right!" Krillin declared. "Let's get going, guys!" Bulma finally handed over the Dragon Radar… only for Krillin to blink. "Huh… one of the balls is in the direction of the Village. I wonder if that means something?"

"Could mean a lot of things but we won't know until we get there," Tien stated, floating up. "So lets get going!"

And with that the gang blasted off.

~MC~MC~MC~

"Lord Frieza, might I enter?"

Frieza, sitting in his mobile throne, looking out the space port at the vastness of the space, touched a button on the control panel. The door slid open and Zarbon entered, Dodoria only a few steps behind him. They took three steps in and by the time Frieza had twisted his throne around they were already kneeling, heads bowed.

It was why Frieza kept them around. Yes, they had been installed by his father to keep an eye on him, he knew that. And yes, they most likely had been also commanded to spy on him… but they knew their place. Never once let it be known that they weren't anything but loyal to him.

Frieza knew the games his father played.

'Despite claiming you are retired… you are still in the game. Still trying to control the universe. Only now, rather than use brute strength… you prefer more subtle things. I can almost respect that, father. Almost.' He narrowed his eyes, Zarbon and Dodoria remaining still, heads down as they refused to lift their eyes to meet his own. 'There are so many ways I can play this. Feed you false information so you believe I am doing one thing when I'm really doing another. Going utterly radio silent so that your little spies grow desperate for information and make a mistake. Simply slaughter them as soon as I discover them, forcing you to constantly try and find new spies. Many would consider trying to turn them to my side… easy enough to do, father, considering that you are so, so far away while they have to spend every moment with me.

'But… no. No that would all be too bothersome. I prefer to continue on as if I never knew. Let you believe that I foolishly took you at your word and that the likes of Zarbon and Dodoria are now my utterly loyal minions, doing exactly as I command. That they have surrendered all connection to you and are completely mine to do with as I wish. All the while preparing for the one day, which now races far closer than you realize, where I will no longer need to play these games.'

"Raise," Frieza declared and at once the two did so. "Well, what is it? I have many important tasks to see to and don't have time for the normal fawning."

"The systems state that we will be nearing Planet Namek soon, my lord," Zarbon stated.

"And you are positive that it is actually Planet Namek?" he pressed. "Because I will not be pleased with either of you if this information was wrong and you… got my hopes up." He smirked even as he narrowed his eyes. "You know how well I handle disappointment."

The two didn't react at all which was rather nice. While Frieza did enjoy it when his minions cowered under the threat of his wrath he also rather liked it when they were able to hide their fear and keep to the task at hand. Stammering and stumbling over their words so did delay things, after all.

"We have past several moons that fit well with other reports we've had concerning Namek," Dodoria stated.

"And the planet is giving off a unique energy reading that fits the claims of others who are said to have found it."

Frieza nodded ever so slightly at that. Ever since he'd heard the legend of the Dragon Balls, the ancient relics that could grant their gatherer a single wish, he had made sure to quietly gather all the information he could about them. Or, rather, had his people gather the information and then vaporized them to cover his tracks. Still, there were many to have claimed to have found the planet but he had determined that of them all only 3 had actually managed to make it to Planet Namek and all had reported an odd energy reading.

It was a good sign.

"Very good," Frieza stated.

Dodoria, feeling a bit bolder, stepped forward. "I have been working with the men. The entire fleet is ready to lay siege to the planet-"

"No," Frieza said, cutting him off.

Dodoria nearly stumbled at that, all his momentum halted from that little declaration. "No… my lord?"

"Yes. I would think, what with it being only two letters, that even your thick skull would be able to understand it, Dodoria." Removing himself from his mobile throne Frieza began to pace, arms folded behind his back. "The Namekians have shown that they are willing to do whatever it takes in order to protect their secrets. If we rush in and begin raining destruction down upon them they could quite easily decide to take the Dragon Balls and leave or destroy them. No… while it is your nature to be a hammer we must be like the finest of knives. A small, flexible blade, able to slip between the skin and the muscle to flay away all we do not desire to get to the true treasures that lie beneath. "

"Of course, Lord Frieza," Zarbon stated. "We will take full control of the space around Namek, so no ship can come in or out. Then strike forces will be sent to secure the planet while a task force collects the Dragon Balls. Perhaps the Ginyu Force or-"

"Now now, Zarbon," Frieza said tauntingly, "you make it sound as if you don't want to get your hands dirty."

"Lord Frieza?"

"What is it that I have said so very often to you all?" Frieza asked, looking out the window once more. When neither answered he said, "For any job you use whoever is best suited for a task. If I wish to humiliate some pathetic little planet I send those monkeys. If I wish to preserve what they have I send you, Zarbon. If I need to make an example of some foolish rebel then Dodoria is my choice. But here… to gather the Dragon Balls… there is only one choice."

He turned.

"Myself."

"Y-you, Lord Frieza?"

"Yes, me," Frieza stated. "I will be going down personally with you both. We will collect the Dragon Balls ourselves while the Frieza Force secures the planet. I do not trust anyone else to handle this situation."

"Yes, Lord Frieza," Zarbon said, Dodoria quickly echoing that statement.

Frieza paused, letting them think everything was done, before adding, "Oh, and I have shut down all communication between the Fleet and all other stations and systems. I don't want a rush of fools coming here thinking they can help up."

He could see the reflections of the two warriors wincing at that.

'Ah… now you don't know what to do. Can't run to my father and ask him exactly what should be the next step. Let me guess… you had instructions to claim the Dragon Balls and take them to him? Just as I am sure Cooler has sent his own loyal spies within the Frieza Force the same instructions. But now that I will be handling this personally neither of you know what to do.' He smirked. 'Well… you are going to either do as I tell you or finally reveal your traitorous alliances…"

It was a heedy feeling. Soon the game would be done. The spies revealed. Immortality in his grasp. And the chains of his family shattered.

The game would be done.

And Lord Frieza, Emperor of the Known Universe, would be the victor.