Based on MasakoX's What If series "What if Gine went with Goku to Earth?", but a retcon with some changes of my own on how I think the story would have went down had Goku's mother escaped planet Vegeta with him.
DISCLAIMER: The following is a fan-based work of fiction. Dragonball Minus, Dragonball, Dragonball Z, Dragonball Super, and Dragonball GT are all owned by FUNimation, Toei Animation, and Akira Toriyama.
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CHAPTER 50: WELCOME TO NAMEK
Bulma downed the last of her morning coffee. The ship's clock read 8 AM, set to the time back home, but there was no morning light in the blackness of space outside the windows to help wake her up. The lack of a day/night cycle in space had messed with everyone's sleep cycles but otherwise everyone was in good spirits. Plus, today was supposed to be the last day of the voyage.
As if to affirm that, the navigation computer beeped. Any sleep still in Bulma's eyes disappeared immediately and was replaced with adrenaline as she looked out the front viewport.
"Hey everybody! We're coming up on Namek!" She triumphantly called over her shoulder toward the common area. Yamcha and Krillin were doing their morning exercise routines while Chi-Chi and Little Gohan were having breakfast. They all stopped and looked to her at hearing that announcement.
"YAY!" Little Gohan leapt from his chair towards the front; his food forgotten to Chi-Chi's chagrin.
Krillin was ecstatic. "Alright! 'Bout time!"
"Tell me about it. Thought this was gonna take forever." Yamcha quipped. Although he had been enjoying the intense training the ship's artificial gravity offered and the alone time with Bulma in their quarters, six days cooped up in the ship was driving him stir crazy.
"Can we see it yet?!" Little Gohan bolted up to Bulma's side at the command chair, unable to contain his excitement.
"Yep, it's dead ahead!" Bulma said confidently as she pointed out the window towards a bright green dot in the distance that was slowly getting bigger. Other dots that were also other planets filled the black void around them, punctuated by the glare of three suns.
"Woah. A triple-star system?!" Little Gohan mouthed in amazement.
"I know, right?" Bulma was geeking out too. "Wish I had time to tackle the physics of how a planet like this could be habitable in such conditions."
The green dot grew into an orb as they got closer, and everyone gawked in awed silence. Even at their rapidly closing distance it was a massive emerald-hewed jewel of a world that they could tell was bigger than Earth. Despite how alien it looked, the familiar features of clouds, oceans, and landmasses with unmistakable vegetation reminded them so much of home. It looked almost inviting.
"Alright, buckle up, cuz we're about to begin our approach!" Bulma warned.
Breaking away from the beautiful sight, everyone took their seats and strapped in as the ship's autopilot commenced the landing procedure.
The green sphere of Namek filled the view ports, and the ship shuddered violently as the darkness outside gave way to a fiery red as they decelerated through the thickening atmosphere. Chi-Chi clutched Little Gohan for dear life while Yamcha galloped in excitement from the ride. "YE-HAW!" He bellowed, drawing flabbergasted looks from Chi-Chi.
The flames faded to a vibrant green sky, until finally after a last shudder, all was silent save for the sounds of the ship powering down.
"Thank you for flying Capsule Corp, ladies and gentlemen! Welcome to Namek!" Bulma gave her proudest thumbs up to them.
"I'll never travel through space again, I swear!" Chi-Chi complained, letting go of Little Gohan gasping for breath.
Bulma punched in some codes before Krillin thought of something. "Wait, won't we need spacesuits or something? This is an alien planet afterall-"
"Way ahead of you Krillin! Said Bulma before he could finish. "I've already analyzed the atmosphere and it shows the same amount of oxygen content as Earth does. So, it should be safe to breathe." A couple more buttons. "But only one true way to find out though!"
The door opened and a rush of salty air filled the cabin. After a few deep breaths and exhales, Bulma seemed satisfied. "Seems okay to me!"
With the ship's gravity turned off, the natural pull of the planet's gravity well made itself known to them. During the journey they made use of the adjustable gravity to supplement their training routines as well as prepare for whatever the gravity of Namek may be, going up to five times that Earths (at least that's what everyone did with the except of Bulma, being the only non-combatant of the group). To their surprise, Namek's gravity was not much stronger than Earth's. So, they should have no trouble walking around.
With that they stepped outside and gazed upon a blue-mossed covered landscape with tall stick-like trees, green water, and white clouds in a green sky under a half-dozen moons and two of the three suns in the sky. It hadn't quite sunk in that they were truly on an alien planet...
They were all so enchanted with the sight that they all failed to sense rapidly approaching presences until someone called it out too late.
"There!"
From out of nowhere, five bulky green figures flew out of the sky and touched down before them. They were tall, wore simple but elegant attire, and bore the unmistakable resemblance of King Piccolo.
The strength these Namekians radiated matched their hard and unblinking stares that sent fear down the Earthlings' spines. Even with all their training, Yamcha, Chi-Chi, and Gohan were unsure if they could take them all on. Krillin was utterly frozen in terror at the sight of these things. He whimpered as the traumatic memory of seeing one just before he was killed last time flashed before his eyes like it happened only yesterday, and thus was unable to even move.
"Get behind me babe." Yamcha put himself in front of Bulma as he and Chi-Chi took their fighting stances. "Some welcoming committee." She quipped.
Little Gohan didn't get into battle stance and instead, approached the nearest Namekian to him whom Little Gohan had to assume was their leader.
"Gohan, DON'T!" A horrified Chi-Chi reached out for him.
"Wait! I have an idea." He reassured her and turned back towards the Namekians. They towered over the small boy, but the little half-Saiyan looked them in the eye without fear or malice.
Clearing his throat, Little Gohan uttered what sounded like some guttural nonsense to his companions' ears, but the ears of the Namekians perked up in surprise:
"Hello."
"You know our language." The lead Namekian said back to Little Gohan in his native tongue.
The group from Earth gawked at the five-year-old. He bowed respectfully to the leader and kept talking.
"My name is Son Gohan. These are my friends, Bulma, Krillin, Yamcha, and my mother, Chi-Chi. We are from the planet Earth, and we come in peace."
The Namekian stood straight with respect. "Greetings. I am Rama, village guardian of the local clan of Moori. These are my siblings, Moolin, Tannish, Lugo, and Uzma. What purpose brings you to our world, young Son Gohan?"
"We are here to ask you for your help." Said Little Gohan.
"And what would that be?"
"We had a dear friend from our homeworld who is also a Namekian, his is name was Kami. He has fallen in battle trying to protect us and we came here hoping to find dragonballs to bring him back to life."
"You know of the dragonballs?" Rama asked, suddenly terse. Little Gohan didn't seem to notice or care.
"Yes, we had a set of our own back on Earth. But they disappeared when Kami died. He sacrificed himself to save me and my mother from being killed by evil Saiyans that threatened my friends, my family, and our planet. We wish to resurrect him and our other comrades if it's possible."
Rama was silent for a long moment as he looked among his compatriots, and they in turned looked back and at each other in silent contemplation.
"Excuse us, for we must deliberate amongst ourselves." Moori said finally.
Little Gohan nodded. "I understand."
The five Namekians retreated a distance and begun conversing with each other in their language. Little Gohan couldn't pick up everything they said, but it seemed like they were still suspicious of the Earthlings. When he turned to look at his companions, they were all bug-eyed. Even Krillin had snapped out of his post-traumatic trance and regarded him with amazement.
"Gohan... you can speak Namekian?!" Krillin demanded.
Little Gohan smiled back them. "Not until right now! I've been practicing with the translator in my free time. Wasn't sure if it would work or not until I tried it for real. Looks like it was spot on!"
Stars erupted in Chi-Chi's eyes, overflowing with pride at how capable her little boy was.
"Wow, kiddo. That's something even I can't top." Bulma complimented. It's not often that she felt humbled by other prodigies, and by a toddler no less!
Just then the Namekians had broken up their private congress and returned before the Earthlings. But this time with another shock:
"We have determined that you are not an immediate threat to us here." Rama addressed them all in perfect English.
"Woah! You know our language too?!" Yamcha said it almost accusatory.
The village guardian did not miss a beat as he explained. "Not until now we didn't, but after listening to you and Son Gohan here, we are able to discern it."
The five Earthlings were left dumbstruck at the feat.
"Wow. You guys learn fast!" Bulma breathed, her previous humility for Little Gohan forgotten.
Ignoring the compliment, Rama turned back to Little Gohan, conversing in English time. "Anyways, it appears to us that the five of you are not immediately dangerous to us. However, as to your story, we are not familiar with the name of Kami. But perhaps our village elder, Moori, might know more what to do about this. We shall take you to him for further questioning."
Little Gohan's eyes lit up. "Really? That's great!"
"Alright, way to go for Ambassador Gohan here!" The group perked up with Yamcha's little joke. But then Rama gave him a stern look.
"But know this: you are still intruders on our world, and the fact that you know about our dragonballs is of no light matter. Many a great number of unsavory peoples from across the galaxy have befallen our planet in search of them for selfish or even evil purposes. They are far too powerful for their use to be entrusted to anyone coming to ask for them, so fair warning Earthlings. We will take you to our leaders, and they will judge if you are worthy of their use. If not, then we are obliged to make sure you do not leave this planet alive for our safety's sake."
Although they had nothing to fear as they KNEW their intentions were pure, the travelers from Earth couldn't help but gulp.
"Fair enough I suppose." Was all Yamcha could say.
"Good, then come with us."
Without another word, Rama and the other Namekians took off while the others followed behind with Yamcha carrying Bulma in his arms as they flew. A couple of the Namekians trailed behind the Earthlings, keeping cautious eyes on them.
"Well, I guess we're prisoners now then!" Bulma commented darkly as they flew.
"No, Bulma. If what they are saying is true, then we should play by their rules. We just have to convince them that what we're here for is true!" Said Little Gohan above the wind. "We've got nothing to hide, we mean no harm, and he did say that we are not dangerous to them. I'm sure if we talk to them a little more than they'll realize they got nothing to worry about."
That was true, and while logically it should work out for them, it's still a little nice to have an escape route.
"Glad at least we won't have to take them on! Heh!" Krillin joked, but nobody laughed.
They continued on in silence towards the village where, hopefully, they can make their case and prove the validity of their journey. As they flew, Little Gohan made a mental note to himself to study more about the intricacies of diplomacy when they get back home...
Meanwhile, on Frieza Planet 79...
"This is the only survivor, my lord." Said one of the minions that brought forth a burnt and wounded Qui before Frieza, flanked on either side by his henchmen Dadoria and Zarbon.
The lizard tyrant slammed his whipping tail onto the floor hard enough to crack the tiles. He. Was. Livid.
"So, Qui." Frieza acidly spat his name with as much contempt as disappointment. "How is it that you not only have failed to kill Vegeta, but let him escape, while also destroying a vital outpost for my forces in the process... and somehow you are the only one left alive?"
"I-I-I..." Qui stammered, cowering where he lay. He was absolutely overcome with shame, unable to hide his weakness before the galactic emperor after having his failure called out in such brutal clarity. His own death sentence being spelled out before him, caused by his own stupidity.
Nonetheless his survival instinct had taken over his mouth. "I-I- he... he must've known sire! He attacked us before we could subdue him, took us by surprise!"
"I wanted Vegeta dead! NOT YOUR EXCUSES!" Frieza shouted, punctuating with a violent and powerful energy blast that vaporized Qui on the spot. He didn't even have time to scream. It was quicker and more painless than he deserved.
Dadoria and Zarbon had seen their master execute countless underlings over the years, but it never failed to send shudders through them to see that Frieza did not tolerate failure no matter how loyal or competent you were.
A scout came in and saluted, he handed a report to Dadoria and he scanned through it. "My lord, we've been able to track the pod Vegeta stole. According to our calculations, he appears to have plotted a course for the Namek system."
"Mn." Frieza muttered. He still wasn't dead or at least in front of him to kill.
"Shall we take care of him ourselves, my liege?" Zarbon offered.
Frieza thought for a moment, looking over both of his henchmen, then speaking.
"No Zarbon. I have a better idea: Send the Ginyus to bring him to me alive."
Both of his right-hand men gasped in shock.
"Sire, do you believe that to be necessary?"
Frieza answered with a deadly glare that reminded Zarbon to never question the ruler of the known universe ever again and was lucky to have been spared this time.
"Uh, R-right away, sire. I shall notify the captain immediately."
Zarbon turned to leave, but Frieza called out to him.
"Remember: I want Vegeta brought to me alive, you understand? I want to finish him myself."
"As you command, my lord." Before Zarbon left he turned again he carefully added. "Oh, and uh, shall I also ask the Ginyus to conquer the planet as well while they are at it?"
Frieza scoffed. "Do you have to even ask? Might as well."
"Er, Yes my lord!" Zarbon saluted and quickly got out of there before he pushed his luck further. with saying something that might accidentally end him.
Watching Zarbon run in fear and still fresh from Qui's execution, the lizard tyrant regained some of his composure. In his sadistic way, he took such a megalomaniacal pleasure in how he could strike terror in the hearts of all around him. With his unfathomable and unchallengeable power. How he could decide the fates of entire civilizations with a whim. Obliterate entire planets with his fingertips. Its why he was, by the right of might, the true ruler of the universe. His for the taking and mold as he saw fit. There was still so much of it left to conquer and so little time...
And no one disobeys him, least of all that filthy monkey who still deludes himself with visions of any real royalty. He was his favorite pet until he ran off, all because he knew the truth. Now he must be made an example of...
"They're on their way there now, sire." Said Zarbon as he came back.
He couldn't wait to get his hands around Vegeta's neck to crush the light out of the last Saiyan once and for all...
Then after a while, "Oh to hell with it. Zarbon! Set course for Namek!"
They were caught by surprise but knew better.
"As you wish, my lord. Setting a course for Namek right away."
He is too impatient to execute Vegeta. So what if he already sent the Ginyus? He's Frieza. He could do. Whatever. He. Wants...