"Please, I must see Lord Guru at once!" Viol said, staring at the unmoving form of Nail. The Namekian had arrived in a panic, barely able to get out his words. Nail had of course been concerned, giving him some water to drink and begging him to take a moment to settle himself. Finally able to string some words together Viol had given his name and then… "It is very important! The entire planet is at stake!"

"And I told you that you can address such concerns to me," Nail replied. "I will then determine if they are worthy of Lord Guru's attention."

Viol frowned at that and Nail fought back to urge to sigh in frustration. He knew what Viol was thinking. 'There is Nail, the horrible door guard who is refusing to allow Lord Guru to hear what he needs to hear. He will never let me in, no matter what, and he will mock me for what I have come to tell him! Perhaps if I insult him that will get him to give in…'

Sure enough Viol narrowed his eyes and glowered at Nail. "We don't have time for your stubbornness! Lord Guru must learn of this at once!"

"And I have told you that you will be able to see him but only after you tell me what the problem is."

"You fool!" the other Namekian thundered. "You rock-headed fool! Every moment you waste more of our people suffer!"

"I waste?" Nail said, remaining calm even if inside of him swirled utter frustration. "You could have told me your issues several times over by now, so that I could have taken the proper action. Instead you insist on seeing Lord Guru-"

"He is our leader. I have no time to bicker with his bodyguard." With that Viol tried to shove his way through but Nail merely stepped in his way, glaring at the younger Namekian. Viol tried to rush him, screaming for Lord Guru, but Nail merely continued to remain in his way, refusing to budge. "Move at once you-"

"Nail," the deep voice of Lord Guru called out from his home. "Show him in."

Taking a single calming breath Nail moved aside, Viol giving a smug little smirk at his victory before he continued inside. Nail, for his part, called upon all the training he'd received in calming his raging emotions to settle himself down, knowing that it would do no good for him to fly off the handle. It would do no good for him to get upset either; not in just that moment but for his future either.

'As much as I might want to,' Nail thought bitterly. 'All I do for Namek and my people and they still treat me like this. I was celebrated when I was born… and then within weeks was seen as the oddity that could be ignored and brushed aside. The one that never fit in, the one that wasn't actually a member of the Namekian Race. And now they view me as the villain in all their tales.' He shut his eyes. 'How-'

He moved to stand behind Viol, near the door so that he could still protect Lord Guru both from threats that might come as well as Viol. While he didn't want to ever think that a fellow Namekian would turn on their own kind he had heard from the elders enough tales of the Lost Hopes to know that even Namekians had it within them to commit great evils.

And considering what they had sensed an hour ago…

"Lord Guru," Viol exclaimed, staring up at the leader of Namek. It always interested Nail to see how his fellow Namekians reacted to the sight of Lord Guru. Though each of them had seen him as children, and his doors were open to them (so long as they followed the proper protocol), they always seemed to act as if it were the first time they had laid eyes on him. He was the largest Namekian on the planet, towering over even Nail, who was after Guru the tallest of their race. And he was quite large as well, so big that he couldn't get through the door that was used by all other Namekians to enter his home; no, when Guru wished to leave his home and take in the splendor of Namek he had Nail remove the roof, so that he could slowly float out.

His great size came from his power, as was true of all Namekians. It was said that in the prime of his life he had towered over all, with some whispering that he had been well over 100 feet tall in just his regular form and that, when he took on his Great Namekian Form, he had been thousands of feet tall. When Nail had been a child he had delighted in trying to find the ponds and lakes that were actually Lord Guru's footmarks. Guru himself had laughed when Nail had told him about that years later, telling his student that at most he had been 40 feet tall. Still VERY large but not the titan that so many made him out to be in the tales, catching meteors with his bare hands.

As with all Namekians as he had gotten older his body had begun to compact, becoming far denser. Height was lost and his form expanded to the sides to compensate for that. The result is what outsiders would have called 'fat' but in reality was all pure muscle. Just… condensed down. Lord Guru, in fact, was stronger than he was when he had strolled across Namek's surface, a single step taking him lengths across the planet. He could have crushed stone by just squeezing his fingers together, all his muscles compacted down to give him far greater power. And to harm him? Nail didn't think there was any power in the universe that could destroy Lord Guru.

'That's what my fellow Namekians don't understand,' Nail thought to himself. 'I am not protecting Lord Guru from them… I am protecting them from Lord Guru. He knows his strength is so great that if he made the wrong move he could easily reduce them to a paste. While he has the best control I have ever seen he still fears what he could do… thus, why I am here.'

"L-l-l-lord Guru," Viol stammered, suddenly quite nervous. He rung his hands together and looked down, Lord Guru smiling at that. The gesture caused the many wrinkles in his face to pull and twitch and at once the heavy scowl that he always appeared to be wearing disappeared into a look of gentle kindness.

"Why do you tremble, my boy?" he asked softly… or at least softly for him. For everyone else it was a deep sound, one that seemed to roll through their forms and touch the very core of them. "You are safe here."

"But… but that is why I have come, Lord Guru! None of us are safe! A terrible evil has arrived and invaded the planet!"

"This is grave news," Lord Guru said, his smile falling. "Did you tell Nail?"

Viol started at that. "I… Lord Guru?"

"Nail is our greatest fighter. I have tasked him to carry out many of the actions and deeds that I can no longer see too. If there is one being on this planet that I would trust to aid us in this dark time it would be Nail. Did you inform him of this? Is he already out there working to repel the invaders?"

Nail forced himself not to smirk. Lord Guru knew he was there… he could sense his energy. Just as he had known that the invaders had arrived; both he and Nail had felt their coming. They hadn't taken any action yet as they were waiting for more information; only fools rushed out without a second thought to deal with a danger they didn't understand, after all. Lord Guru though wasn't pleased with what had happened outside of his home and this was his way, even in the middle of a crisis, to teach one of his fellow Namekians a lesson.

"I… I came to tell you the news-" Viol began only to suddenly find himself utterly tongue-tied.

"Yes, you did. But instead you insulted Nail, my apprentice and successor. He asked you for the information, to determine if it was truly worthy of my time."

"It is!" Viol exclaimed. "The invaders-"

"Will be stopped by Nail, not me," the eldest of the Namekians said firmly but also gently. "My days of fighting are over, Viol… you know this. The end of my life is far closer than the beginning… it is far closer than my middle years!" He let out a laugh at that. It was short and a bit weezy but it was there. "Nail is the one that will be protecting you all soon… why do you not trust him?"

"I… I thought…"

"You didn't though, did you?" Lord Guru didn't say the words in a rude or judgmental way. He stated them with kindness, the same way the Elders had asked Nail why he had scrapped his knee when he was supposed to be studying. "You believed that I was the only one that could solve your problems… but that is ignoring your friends. Your elders. Your brothers. You can not always rush to me for your problems… while I am more than willing to give you advice you must realize that sometimes there are those that are better suited for such things than I."

Nail could tell that Viol didn't like that answer. That for him Lord Guru was the solution to every problem. That one only needed to go to the eldest of the Namekians and every problem would be solved. He most likely thought that just speaking with Lord Guru would fix everything. That the Elder and leader of their people would raise his arms and suddenly the invaders would be cast away and all the waters would taste sweet forever.

"Do not look so down," Lord Guru said. "We have faced strife before."

"I'm not sure if we have faced anything like this though," Viol said. "A group of people arrived on the planet… they brought one of the Lost Hopes with them."

Nail's eyes went wide. "A Lost Hope?"

Lord Guru was just as struck, leaning forward in his seat. "A Lost Hope found… is this… the threat?"

"No! He is not. He's… he's not." It took Nail by nearly as much surprise that Viol was so protective of the Lost Hope as the fact that there WAS a Lost Hope once more on Namek. "There… Elder Sax says there is evil in his heart but it is no different than many of us. That he is merely someone who survived a strange world and that his heart remains rather pure."

"That is good to hear," Lord Guru said with a shallow nod. "A pity then that his arrival comes just as another threat arrives. What do you know of these invaders?"

"They are led by one called Frieza," Viol said. "The new arrivals told us that one of their number used to work for him, but has since turned against him. He is a tyrant that seeks to cleanse worlds and then sell them to others for their own purposes."

"Sell Namek?" Nail exclaimed in shock.

But Lord Guru raised his hand. "You have more to say, Viol?"

"Yes, Lord Guru. It seems that Frieza isn't here to claim our planet. Rather… it's the Dragon Balls!"

At once Nail saw the danger and the threat. 'Someone like these Frieza with the power of the Dragon Balls? Even being allowed to make three wishes to Porunga is far too great of a threat! He would be able to do so much harm not just to Namek but the entire universe!' He found himself looking to Lord Guru and the Dragon Ball that remained near him at all times. The Eldest of the Namekians slowly reached over and patted the Dragon Ball.

"Do you have a plan to tell us, Viol?"

The villager nodded. "The new arrivals are helping Elder Sax and many of us carve a great cavern into the bedrock of Namek. We hope to hide ourselves away, to weather this storm. They have amongst them a metal being, Isco, and he is attempting to destroy the devices they are using to find the Dragon Balls. If we are able to do that then Frieza will not be able to make his wish!"

"And instead this Frieza may very well choose to bathe our planet in flames," Nail pointed out. Viol's eyes went wide at that and he began to stammer and stumble over his words, like his tongue had become too thick and bloated for his mouth. "Don't worry," Nail said but the other Namekian continued to spiral into a panic. "I said don't worry… I was only pointing out what could happen. You don't need to freak out." He narrowed his eyes as the Namekian villager began to rock back and forth, wringing his hands together. "I mean it… calm down! Take a breath! Stop-"

Lord Guru held up a hand and at once Viol turned to him with wide eyes, pleading with him to make everything better. Nail at once admired Lord Guru for being able to bring such ease to others and at the same time hated that the elder Namekian was able to do that. Especially with how easily he brought Viol's stammers to a halt.

"It is a good plan to start with," Lord Guru stated. "But we must do more than that. You will show Nail where you have begun to work on the hiding place for our people. The Dragon Ball will be taken with you but it will NOT be kept there. I will share with Nail, and only Nail, information on several secret caverns that only I know of. I would also suggest that you work with Elder Sax and the other village elders to create more caverns spread out amongst the planet. We must not allow ourselves to become lax due to having a single good plan."

"Of course Lord Guru!" Viol declared, nodding hard. "I will speak to the others. And I am sure, when you discuss things with the visitors you will be able to advise them well."

"Hmmm. Perhaps. Now, please leave me and Nail. I must give him the information."

Viol bowed and quickly hurried outside, leaving Nail and Lord Guru all alone. Nail turned but saw that his mentor was staring at him rather intently, focusing all his attention upon him.

That… wasn't a good sign.

"You are upset, Nail," Lord Guru said. "I sensed it the moment you entered here. What troubles you?"

"These invaders-" Nail began but Lord Guru mere shot him a look and Nail sighed. "No. It wasn't that. My apologizes." He bowed before continuing on. "When Viol came he… he refused to listen to me." Nail shook his head in frustration. "I train and I train. You have told them all that I will be the next Grand Elder of Namek when you pass… I hope that day never comes, of course, but I know it will and I prepare for it. And still my brothers refuse to listen to me! They turn to you, Lord Guru, and dismiss me as a mere guard. They show me no respect at all and I wonder how I am supposed to lead them when they do not view me as a leader!"

Lord Guru was silent for several long moments, considering all Nail had said. He knew there was no rushing the Grand Elder; Lord Guru would speak when he was ready and not a second more. That was his way. It had been a hard lesson for Nail to learn. When he had been young he had thought that Lord Guru's silence was judgment upon him… a negative thing that showed he'd upset his mentor. As such he'd ended up constantly babbling and rambling, trying to fill the air in an attempt to correct his 'mistake'. He would suddenly change his mind and declare what he had suggested was bad and horrible and he was so sorry… only for Lord Guru to smile and say that he had actually rather liked the idea and didn't understand why Nail was now suddenly against it. Time had gotten him to see that his mentor would talk when he was ready. 'Haste makes waste' Lord Guru had once told him when he had asked him why he always thought over his answers. When Nail had questioned what would happen if Lord Guru missed out on something because he was going over his options the Grand Elder had merely chuckled and told him "Then it wasn't worth it".

"Respect is not a river," Lord Guru finally said.

"I don't understand," Nail admitted.

"It does not flow one way, Nail. You do not respect your fellow Namekians so they do not respect you."

"Don't… don't…" Nail found he was the one stammering. "Lord Guru, everything I do is for them! All of my training! It is to be the best leader I can be for them!"

"An Elder can be wise. Cunning. Full of wisdom. Powerful beyond measure. But one that does not care for those he serves will never be a strong leader." Lord Guru shook his head when Nail opened his mouth to protest. "When Viol first appeared you told him he could not talk to me."

"Yes. But I also told him he needed to tell me what was wrong."

"You said that you would hear what he had to say and then determine if I should hear it or if it was a matter that you should handle on your own."

"Yes. Exactly." But even as Nail said the words he knew that wasn't the answer Lord Guru wanted.

"He didn't need dictation of the rules, Nail. He needed comfort. You could have told him that you saw he was scared and that we would help him. But first he needed to tell you what was wrong."

"He would have just insisted that only you could help him." Nail sighed. "They always do that, Lord Guru. They never want to come to me."

"Because you have given them no reason to come to you, Nail. Your heart is set against them, seeing them as judging you. And thus you fulfill your own prophecy." Lord Guru took a long breath at that. "Perhaps… perhaps this invasion will be the moment where you learn how to become the leader our people need… and not the one you BELIEVE they need." He gave a nod at that. "Yes… yes, I believe this will help you greatly, Nail."

"I… yes, Lord Guru," Nail said, pushing aside his own doubts. 'They will never respect me… they will always see me as just a shade of you. How can I hope they will listen to me when they will always be turning towards you?' He didn't say such thoughts aloud, knowing that Lord Guru wouldn't be pleased with them. He always saw the best in their people and thought they could do such great things… but Nail knew that even Namekians with their pure hearts could fall prey to jealousy and envy.

There were many on Namek who disliked that he had been chosen as Lord Guru's successor. They felt he was too young, had not lived long enough… and in Nail's opinion too offended to the idea that the Grand Elder would ever leave them. For years Nail had been forced to deal with their eyes constantly watching him, waiting for him to slip up. And when he didn't they then watched him to see just why they should bother listening to him at all. He had long become used to having every action weighed by his fellow Namekians and be found wanting.

"Now then," Lord Guru said, taking the Dragon Ball and placing it in Nail's hands before using his other to touch his head. At once the Grand Elder sent to him the information he needed, of the secret caves hidden behind a waterfall. A cave that went very deep… in fact it had been the cave, Nail realized thanks to the memories, where Lord Guru had hidden the eggs he had created that had become the Namekian race. "You know where to go. Travel with Viol to the visitors. Speak with them, especially the Lost Hope and the one that has turned against the invaders. Find out what they know and how they can assist us. Then hide this Dragon Ball… keep it secret and safe Nail."

"Of course, Lord Guru… but would it not be better for you to hold onto it for a little longer? At least until we are at the caverns they are carving out?"

Lord Guru shook his head at that. "No, Nail. I will not be coming with you."

"You… Lord Guru!" Nail exclaimed. "You must come!"

"My days of travel are behind me, Nail. This home is where I have chosen to spend my final days and I will not be leaving it."

"But… but the invaders!" Nail protested. "They will find you, Lord Guru! Even if the visitors destroy the devices they have that allow them to track energy they will see this place! It is all alone and will draw their attention. And if any among them can sense energy…"

Lord Guru slowly held up his hand. "That… is what I am hoping for, Nail." He stared at his mentor in shock. "These invaders must be distracted until plans to fight against them are created. I fear already several villages will fall to them… their sacrifices will be remembered for allowing the rest of the Namekian people survive. I… will be another distraction. I will draw their attention to me and then I will do all I can to befuddle them and keep them focused on me alone. That will buy all of you the time you need."

"I… I don't-"

"Nail," Lord Guru said gently. "You are a prodigy. The greatest fighter… and the greatest mind. You are able to blend the talents of the Dragon and Warrior Tribes into one. You were born to lead our people… and I know you will. I do not give this Dragon Ball over to you to merely hide. I give it to you… because it is yours now."

Nail swallowed as he ran his hands along the relic's surface. It pulsed in time with his heart and he knew at once that Lord Guru had passed the control of the Dragon Balls onto him. He was their guardian now and it would be through him they would get their strength. His life would see them grow… his death would see them fade.

He found… he wasn't ready.

"I will hide this, Lord Guru. I will meet with the others. And we will come up with a plan to drive these invaders back. And I will enjoy giving this back to you, so you might care for it for years to come."

The Grand Elder smiled at that but also shook his head. "Do not allow yourself to become bewitched by the dream of saving me, Nail. I have lived a good life… far better than I ever dreamed. I knew I would never see Namek fully restored but I have lived long enough to see our race pull itself from the very brink of extinction. Do not mourn me and do not wonder what might have been. Think of me and smile. And… pass on not just what I have taught you… but what you yourself will learn." He dipped his head at that. "Now… go, Lord Nail."

Nail squeezed his eyes shut before finally nodding. "Till we meet again, Lord Guru."

He emerged from Lord Guru's house to find Viol pacing nervously, looking up at the sky. He didn't blame him for that… he could sense that the invaders were on the move and while not heading in their direction depending on where they needed to go they might need to rely upon some tricky flying in order to get to their destination.

"Come, Viol, let's go."

"What of Lord Guru?"

Nail opened his mouth but then shut it.

He thought for a long moment.

"I… can not speak of his plan," he finally said, knowing that Viol needed hope that Guru would be alright.

Hope that Nail didn't have.

~MC~MC~MC~

"How is it coming, Isco?" Krillin asked, walking up to the robotic figure. Isco, or rather the Isco that was in his fighting form, was sitting on the ground, a scouter in his hand, wires connecting the two of them. "Any luck taking down the scouters?"

"Oh, I have long done that," Isco replied in his normal elitist tones. "This Frieza clearly is only managing to dominate weak fleshy creatures because if he were to face off with an empire of machines he would face destruction in days. His firewalls and anti-viral systems are non-existent. I dare say what we use to protect Gohan's tablet so he doesn't stumble on even the most mild of dangers upon the internet is stronger than what Frieza and his forces are using to protect their equipment."

"And considering this is Chichi we're talking about…" Krillin said with a chuckle. He had never found out exactly what was on the VERY long list of No-No topics that Chichi had wanted banned from Gohan's "innocent little eyes" but he could wager on a bunch of it. "So, barely tissue paper?"

Isco shook his head. "Not even that, sir. There is nothing here to protect the systems against an attack by a malicious source."

"Namely, you."

If he could have smiled Krillin knew that Isco would be beaming at that. "Indeed. I can not tell if it is arrogance on his part or stupidity that has kept him from actually taking the most simple of actions to protect his systems… but I do plan to make him regret it for all his days."

"Isco…" Krillin said slowly.

"I am merely doing as Avo would do," the robot said. "Do not leave a knife to stab you in the back. One, if given a chance to destroy a tyrant, does not let such a possibility pass by."

Krillin's jaw worked at that. "It doesn't seem right though."

"He is a blood thirsty tyrant that, according to Raditz, destroyed an entire planet purely because he wanted to." Isco turned and stared right at Krillin. "He laughed, according to what Raditz learned. He laughed as the Saiyan Race burned. Never mind if they deserved it or not for their own evil actions… Frieza laughed." Isco twisted his head back to the scouter. "And now… so will I."

Krillin took a deep breath. 'As much as I might not like it… Isco is right. From everything we've heard about Frieza he is like a hundred Vegetas. Not just in terms of powers but sadism.' Raditz hadn't spared anything in telling them all just how dangerous Frieza was and all the horrifying things he had done as he spread his influence across the galaxy. The lives he had ruined, sometimes not merely for profit as he claimed but because it was clear he simply wanted to. He didn't even had a good reason for what he did other than boredom some days.

'And those that work with him… nearly all of them aren't innocents,' Krillin thought. That had been one of Avo's ideas, to suggest that maybe they could try and stage a bit of a mutiny amongst Frieza's forces.

"Maybe if we give them someone else to fight for?" Kayos had suggested on the flight to Namek. "Raditz can attest that the Z Warriors are a better option. For one thing we won't kill you if you do a bad job." He had bobbed his head back and forth at that. "I mean, sure, you steal the meat and Goku and Raditz might break you in half and if you even think about giving me a fucking salad-" He had lit up both his hands at that, evil and good magic swirling around them.

Raditz though had shaken his head. "It won't work. There might be some in the Frieza Force who are being forced to work for him… the low level peons. The grunt work and the office drones and the support staff. Maybe a few nurses at the medical stations. Ones that might make a bit of noise but more often than not have learned that in order to survive one needs to keep their heads down. Don't think though that all of them are like that. Frieza doesn't take slaves, not for the rank and file certainly. He understands that slaves make poor workers and often times cost more to watch than just paying a skilled worker. The people that work for the Frieza Force watching the budgets or buying the supplies? They do so willingly. And they know what Frieza does. They aren't blind to it.

"But the ones that can actually fight?" He had shook his head. "They aren't happy to be working for Frieza but they won't work with us. They would see us as jokes. Weak pathetic things that would keep them from the slaughter they enjoy. Frieza does not employ noble heroes who fight the good fight. His warriors are the traitors, the scoundrels, the opportunists. That's who he employs and they are not the kind of people we want anywhere near us."

It had been startling to realize that RADITZ was perhaps the most calm and rational of Frieza's soldiers.

'I can't imagine knowing what Frieza does and being okay with it,' Krillin thought darkly. 'To know that someone you work for is a monster and not just accepting that but also aiding them? Its wrong. Its simply wrong.' He looked at Isco and said, "Just what are you going to do?"

"Oh… take down a few systems. Brick others. While it would be easy to enter their systems and just cause all their ships to crash that might get me noticed… already there are some who are realizing what I'm doing and trying to cut off communications so I can't spread as far. That is at least giving me some entertainment, you see. They aren't attacking me or throwing me out but they are forcing me to take paths that I hadn't considered. All very interesting of course…" He trailed off at that.

"How is it going?" Bulma asked as she walked up, wiping her hands on a rag.

"Good enough. Hopefully everything Isco is doing will distract Frieza and keep him from realizing just what we are doing. How goes the ship?"

"Not great," Bulma admitted. "I can't figure out where to send it." She tapped a button on her wrist and a projection appeared of Namek; Krillin couldn't help but whistle at the latest invention Bulma had within her arsenal. It honestly made him glad she was on their side. "So originally I was going to send the ship back up into lower orbit, so that it could be protected in case a fight happened but also be able to arrive quick enough if we needed to leave. Might have been uncomfortable but all of us could have managed flying up to it even with the lower mix of oxygen in the air." She tapped a few more buttons and suddenly four of the Frieza Force ships appeared around the planet. "Frieza and his men arriving when they did was the best and worst thing ever. I'm glad they didn't arrive later because then they would have spotted the ship and destroyed it. But them arriving at all… it means that now the ship is grounded." Lines began to appear all around the planet, green in color only to be intersected by the red lines of the Frieza Force ships. "They hit it every time."

"Except they don't," Raditz said as he walked over, dropping one of the large boulders he'd been moving out of the cavern site with a heavy thud. He gestured at the hologram. "You are working with incomplete information."

"Then by all means, give me what I'm missing," Bulma said, placing her hand on her hip and flashing a challenging look at Raditz.

"This large one that's landed, that's Frieza's ship," he stated. "It has the most shielding and warriors. This one is here is the backup ship… mostly used for the lower level grunts. Good fighters but even one of us could take most of them down." He pointed at the third and fourth ships. "These ones will be the supply ship and the support ship. Supply is exactly what it sounds like: supplies. The food and water, the extra armor, so on. The Support ship has the communication central hub as well as the medical crew; while Frieza keeps a few doctors on his own ship most of the warriors who get injured end up going to the Support Ship."

"I'm surprised he cares at all," Krillin said. "I'd have assumed if you got hurt he'd toss you aside."

"Oh, if your injuries were enough that you cause a problem and there was no recovery he'd toss you to the wolves," Raditz said with a shrug. "That's part of the reason why Vegeta killed Nappa… with him injured as he was Vegeta figured that Frieza would have ordered his death no matter what. There are a lot of the Frieza Force Soldiers who make clear to their squadmates to kill them if they are crippled… it's a kindness." Bulma pressed her lips together at that and Krillin didn't blame her as he also found Raditz's statement to be utterly distasteful. "But if you just have some cuts that need mending or need to spend a day or so in a medical pod then that will be fine. Maybe you get some lesser assignments and eventually if it keeps happening you get booted right back down to the grunts but Frieza figures, again, that its better to keep soldiers who have already been trained than to deal with the hassle of getting new ones up to snuff. He doesn't have the patience to deal with newbies, even if he doesn't have to interact with them at all."

"Okay… so maybe our ship can handle the Support Ship? I mean, how many guns could it have on it anyway?"

"It can handle any of them, at least in terms of flying away," Raditz stated. "None of Frieza's ships have weapons installed."

Bulma fell to the ground in shock.

"Well," Krillin said, rubbing the top of his head in thought, "I guess that makes things easier on us."

At once Bulma popped back up and screeched, "Why would he not have weapons installed!? There is no way he could be that dumb!"

"Would would he bother?" Raditz asked. "Ships don't fight in space."

"…yes they do!"

Raditz shot her a dry look. "Oh really. Get in a lot of space battles down on Earth?"

"No but… everyone knows that… you know, in the movies… gah!" Bulma threw her hands up in frustration. "Whatever! You know what I mean!"

"I really don't," Raditz stated. "You don't fire on a ship in space. That's just silly. That's like putting guns on one of those long people mover that you have on Earth." Krillin realized that Raditz was most likely referring to trains. "They move people WITH guns or who are powerful enough not to need them to where they need to be. Why have weapons installed at all?"

"I… its just…"

"Technically we don't have guns on the ship either," Krillin pointed out, which only made Bulma glower all the more. But, after a few moments she let out a sigh and smiled.

"Okay, so there is no problem with us sending out the ship then!"

"What? No." Raditz shook his head. "We can't send out the ship. That would risk it being destroyed."

"You… you just said Frieza doesn't have any guns on his ships!"

"Yeah," Raditz said with a shrug, "but he can still send out warriors to fight it."

Once more Bulma felt to the ground.

"Someone's coming… and they are alone," Chiaotzu said, coming to the rear of the box canyon where the Z Fighters were gathered. It had been his turn to stand watch, to keep an eye out not just for Frieza's men but also for any of the scouts and messengers that Elder Sax had sent out.

"Maybe its Larin," Krillin suggested. "I wish we could have gone to look for him but we couldn't risk it… not with all the villagers we had to bring back here."

Senza though shook his head, walking up with Elder Sax. "It isn't Larin. I would recognize his energy even this short of a time knowing him."

Elder Sax nodded. "That is Obo." And with that his face grew grim, the lines around his mouth deepening. "I sent him to the Southern Shore Village. If he is returning early…"

They didn't have long to wait as, after about 5 or so minutes, the tall Dragon Tribe Namekian hurried to them, panting hard. Elder Sax commanded him to stop and rest, Senza bringing him some water which the Namekian gulped down in huge mouthfuls.

"Frieza got to the village before you could, didn't he?" Senza asked.

Obo managed a nod and Senza sighed at that, looking to Bulma who used her hologram projector to now show a chart. On one side was cartoony drawings of her and the other Z Fighter's faces. The the other was a scowling Frieza, based on Raditz' descriptions. And in the middle were different Namekian faces, each one within a Dragon Ball. Two, labeled Elder Sax and Elder Mori, were on the Z Fighter's side of the chart. Bulma sadly moved the one from the South Shore Village to Frieza's side.

"On one hand we know that Frieza can't get his wish," she said. "But on the other we can't make any wishes either." Elder Sax had explained that Porunga could grant three wishes and the hope was to use one or two to remove Frieza and his Forces from Namek and hide its location before using the final wish to bring back Master Roshi.

But now that was in doubt.

"It was… horrible," Obo stated. "I arrived just as the invader was leaving. I think its only because he was distracted by the arrival of the rest of his allies that kept him from sensing me."

That made Raditz frown, however. "His scouter should have alerted him."

"His scouter?" Obo said as Isco held up the device in question.

"This here."

"He wasn't wearing a scouter then," Obo stated.

"That's really odd…" Krillin said in deep thought. "Do you think that Frieza's forces have figured out how to sense energy?"

Raditz though was clearly worried about something else. "What did the attacker look like?"

Obo frowned. "Well… a bit like you, to be honest. Shorter hair… shorter in height as well. But he had a tail-"

"Vegeta," Radtiz said darkly. "Frieza must have sent him… he saw Shenron, after all." Raditz balled his hand up into a fist. "or just as likely he learned of this planet and decided to go after the Dragon Balls himself. That is something Vegeta would do." He looked to the others. "This is bad."

"Okay but… it doesn't change much," Bulma said. "He's no different than any other warrior Frieza has."

"Unless he can sense energy now," Senza pointed out. "We know that Saiyans can pick that trick up quick." He nodded towards Raditz.

"That's why Bulma just needs to get the energy blockers ready!" Krillin declared. "She does that and we are all set!"

"I suppose you're right…" Senza said.

"Gohan!" Chichi cried out, rushing to them. "Has anyone seen Gohan?"

Raditz narrowed his eyes… before then went wide with horror. "That little brat…"

"Vegeta is out there," Bulma gasped. "If he senses Gohan-"

"Vegeta… Vegeta is on this planet?" Chichi said, beginning to pant hard. "My baby is out there and Vegeta could find him?"

"Chichi, wait," Krillin began but Chichi's ki aura exploded out of her.

"GOHAN!" she roared, launching herself out of the canyon, Raditz right behind her.

"Damn it," Senza hissed, looking to Elder Sax. "Stay here! We'll bring them back! Krillin!"

"Right!" Krillin declared, flying off after the others. 'I hope we can find him… I'd hate to imagine what would happen if Vegeta beats us to Gohan first!'