Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

I slowly started to stir while letting out a dazed groan as I could hear a loud noise, then I soon realized that it was a blaring car horn as my head was resting on something so I went to open my eyes with a pained grimace and could see that I was slumped against a steering wheel.

I remembered what happened, how my mother and I were heading to the store to get groceries when fucking spaceships came out of the sky and started hovering above Miami as people were in shock and disbelief by what happened, but it was not until that shock and disbelief turned to terror as the spaceships started firing laser blasts down onto the city and all hell broke loose.

I tried to get my mother and me to safety by slamming my foot on the gas and started swerving out of the way of incoming cars but a semi-truck slammed into the back of our car and it spun out of control as I slammed on the brakes until the car smashed into a light post and I was knocked out by hitting my head against the steering wheel, now I could hear gunfire, explosions, and screams while I turned my head to see my mother looking unconscious as her head was bleeding.

"Mom...mom...oh god," I whimpered weakly as I went to remove my seatbelt and reached over to my mother to shake her shoulder to try and wake her up, only she wasn't stirring, and I instead went to remove her seatbelt.

With that done, I managed to get the door open on my side and stumble out of the car while clutching my head, but I shook off my dizziness enough to reach back into the car, grabbing my mother and pulling her out.

I could see police officers and soldiers firing at the invaders consisting of reptilian and fish humanoids that were wearing some kind of strange armor that I was unable to describe because of how woozy I was, though the bullets apparently weren't penetrating the armor, and the cops and soldiers were getting blasted by some kind of laser guns for their efforts.

"Oh Jesus," I spoke with a look of horror on my face and continued to drag my mother away as people were running past us, attempting to get to safety but I didn't know where was safe at the moment and that terrified me.

I kept trying to get my unconscious mother away from the fighting when I felt like panicking after seeing that a group of invaders had spotted us and started following with sadistic smiles, which made me try to drag my mother away even faster since I didn't want to know what would happen if they got their hands on us.

Suddenly, my back bumped into something, and I looked back to see that it was an invader that was a fish-man as nothing but pure terror flooded my system, just as I was grabbed from behind and restrained while I struggled to get free when my mother was ripped out of my arms and dragged away by the other invaders.

"Let go of me! Mom, mom!" I screamed as I thrashed around when I was suddenly thrown into a car and got the breath knocked out of me, then I desperately tried to find something to defend myself with and saw a dead police officer lying in the street with a gun in his hand.

I scrambled over to it and picked up the gun, turning around and didn't think as I started shooting at the alien, but my eyes widened in horror when the bullets bounced off him.

"Nice try," the alien said with a smirk as he smacked the gun out of my hands and I was backhanded across the face, knocking me to the ground until I was soon picked up with his hand around my neck.

"Fuck you..." I wheezed as his hand was squeezing my neck, cutting off oxygen and I started choking while kicking at him desperately.

"Guess I'll put you out of your misery now," the alien told me as he aimed his weapon at my head.

I heard a familiar scream and noticed that my mother had regained consciousness, starting to struggle as she was pinned to the ground and calling out to me.

At that moment, my blood started boiling and pressure began to rise in me as I felt pure rage and hate for these monsters for attacking my home, an ominous purple aura starting to engulf me.

It caused a shockwave that sent the alien choking me flying, sending him into a building as I roared and the streets cracked, cars were launched a few feet away, and glass shattered.

The invaders stopped what they were doing and stared at me with wide eyes as my eyes started glowing purple with my expression looking enraged and full of fury, then I started running at the group of invaders and punched one, sending him into a car and killing him instantly.

"What the hell?! Kill him!" a lizardman shouted before I punched a hole into his abdomen and decapitated him with a neck chop.

That prompted the rest of the group to start shooting at me but I wasn't getting injured by the laser blasts and they seemed to realize that as they started backing up to get some distance from me, only I started killing them as a few attempted to run but I showed no mercy as I impaled them with punches, decapitated them with kicks, and was about to kill the last two when a fish-man wearing armor that was different from the rest had shown up.

"What the hell is going on here?! Is this one earthling seriously giving you this much trouble?!" the fishman shouted in outrage as the two lizardmen flinched.

"Sir, we-" the lizardman on the left tried to say but shut up with a whimper as the fishman glared at him.

"I'll deal with you two later...I planned this invasion out to go smoothly and I will not have any incompetence screw that up," the fishman said menacingly until he went to face me and walked up until he was a few feet away from me.

He was about to say something, but I cut him off by merely punting him into the window of a house with my foot, the glass shattering from the impact and the two lizardmen started looking horrified by what I did when something that appeared to be a large bright light started coming down from the sky like a comet and landed onto the street without causing a crater.

The light faded away and the invaders froze when two people were revealed, one of them looking like a blue-skinned man with short white hair and a light blue ring around his neck as he was holding a scepter with an orb in it and was dressed in brown robes with a black cuirass and a dark green sash.

As for the second person, he appeared to be a male humanoid fox with golden-yellow and white fur while he had three tails and his eyes had yellow scleras.

His ears and hands were a dark brown as he had on what appeared to be red Egyptian-styled attire with his arms, wrists, and neck having gold bands on them with his right ear being pierced.

I don't know who they were, but the invaders appeared to recognize them as they went blue in the face from fear while the fox man looked around until he spotted my mother.

A look of horror crossed his rough features, and then he hurried over to my mother and kneeled to check on her as he looked frantic when my mother weakly reached up to him and he grabbed her hand with a look of distress until he gazed at me.

"What happened? Who did all this?" the fox man demanded, his voice holding a hint of anger and fury to it, just as the fishman stumbled out of the house.

He sucked in a breath once he saw the fox man, but I managed to regain a bit of my composure to point at the fishman as the fishman froze.

"He did it," I spoke with a growl, then the fox man went to glare at the fishman, and he stood up.

"L-Lord Liquiir, I-I can explain!" the fishman exclaimed with a look of terror and Liquiir merely held up a hand with an icy expression.

"No need, I understand quite clearly what happened here, general...Hakai," Liquiir said coldly and the fishman let out a scream of agony as an ominous glow surrounded him and he started disintegrating before my very eyes until he was gone, and the other invaders looked terrified.

"Go, before I decide to destroy you all as well," Liquiir threatened menacingly, prompting the other invaders to run for their lives as they got into their ships and fled the planet as the ships in the sky also left and there was nothing but silence after that.

Pretty soon, the aura surrounding me and the purple glow in my eyes went away until I started to collapse but Liquiir managed to catch me in time as nothing but exhaustion hit me hard, and I started to slip back into unconsciousness again.

"It's okay, you and she are safe now," Liquiir reassured me with a gentle look in his eyes, but my vision grew dark, and everything went black after that.

'Ugh...my head...' I thought as I started to regain consciousness and went to open my eyes, seeing that I was lying in a nice bed with my shirt off.

I was confused at first but then I quickly remembered what happened and I started feeling frantic as I wondered if my mother was okay.

I removed the blanket that was on me and got out of bed as I started looking around cautiously since I didn't know where I was, noticing that I was in a decorated bedroom with red trim and old paintings of Liquiir.

'Where am I?' I thought warily as I spotted a wall mirror and went over to examine myself, then I was surprised to see that I was fully healed up with no signs of any scars as my reflection showed that I had short dirty blond hair, green eyes, and my skin was slightly tan.

"What the hell?" I muttered just as I heard a door opening and quickly looked to see the blue-skinned man from earlier entering the room, only to stop once he saw that I was awake.

"Oh, you are awake," the man said, and I blinked at him until I started feeling tense.

"Who are you? Where am I? Why am I here? What just happened yesterday? Is my mother okay?" I questioned, feeling confused and nervous about what was going on as the man didn't look phased from being bombarded by questions.

"I assure you that your questions will be answered, but you must be dressed appropriately for the occasion since Lord Liquiir is expecting you.

As for who I am, my name is Korn and I am Lord Liquiir's personal attendant," Korn told me as he raised his scepter and aimed it at me.

My eyes widened when I saw the orb glowing but before I could react, something suddenly covered my torso, my hands, and feet so I went to look in the mirror again and saw that I was wearing a black leather vest, green muscle shirt, black fingerless gloves, blue jeans, and black military combat boots but I turned around and gazed back at the mirror to see that the back of my vest had a golden kitsune with four tails on it.

"Um...thanks," I said, unsure how to react to what appeared to be actual magic being performed on me.

"Lord Liquiir wished for you to be dressed once you were awake, so I'm merely doing what he requested," Korn told me and I pressed my lips into a thin line to express my anxiety.

"Is my mother here?" I asked as Korn waited at the door.

"Yes, and Lord Liquiir is currently with her at the moment so follow me," Korn said and I had no choice but to follow him, though I wouldn't dare take my eyes off him just in case.

'Doesn't appear to be social,' I thought as I followed the blue-skinned man to another room and we went inside, then I saw my mother also looking healed as she was resting in a bed and I could see Liquiir sitting next to the bed on a chair that was placed near it as he was holding her hand and having a look of concern and worry in his eyes, which confused me.

"My lord, the boy is awake," Korn announced and Liquiir turned his head to look at him when he spotted me standing next to his attendant.

"Thank you, Korn. Would you mind getting breakfast ready for me and the young man here?" Liquiir requested and Korn nodded.

"Of course, my lord," Korn said and he left the room, leaving me and Liquiir alone as I stared at my mother who was currently sleeping.

"H-How's she doing?" I inquired and Liquiir sighed.

"She'll be okay, but only time will tell when she wakes up," Liquiir informed me, which was something I wasn't happy to hear about but at least she's going to be okay.

"I see..." I trailed off and Liquiir looked awkward for some reason.

"So...I know you have questions and I'll do my best to answer them, but first, how about we head to the dining room and have breakfast?

I know you must be pretty hungry after what happened," Liquiir offered, just as my stomach let out a loud rumble and I blushed as the fox man in front of me chuckled.

"Suppose that answers my question, am I right?" Liquiir remarked with a smirk as he got up from his seat and gestured for me to follow him.

We left the room, and I sent one last look at my sleeping mother before continuing down the hallway with the strange man next to me, the two of us not saying anything but I did notice Liquiir glancing at me from time to time with a thoughtful expression.

I was wondering why he had an interest in me all of a sudden, though I filed it away for now as we entered a large dining room and Liquiir went to take a seat at the end of the table, but I hesitated.

I still wasn't sure about Liquiir and Korn since the former had disintegrated that invader with no issues while the latter appeared to use some kind of magic, not to mention they were aliens so I didn't know if they could actually be trusted or not, though Liquiir noticed that I wasn't sitting down, and he gestured for me to sit in the chair next to him.

"Go on, it's okay," Liquiir encouraged with a smile, and I looked pensive for a moment but then I cautiously walked over to the chair he gestured at and went to sit down.

"Um...I'm curious about something," I spoke up tentatively as I recalled something the invader had called Liquiir.

"Such as?" Liquiir replied and I took in a deep breath to calm my nerves.

"That guy you killed, the one who was responsible for invading my home, he called you Lord Liquiir, and Korn also calls you by that title so are you royalty or something?" I inquired and Liquiir merely chuckled.

"It's a bit more complicated than that, but I'll happily explain over breakfast, which should be done by now," Liquiir told me just as I smelled something good and Korn entered the dining room, holding two plates with something on them as I blinked at the sight of his scepter floating alongside him.

"Your breakfast, my lord," Korn said as he gently placed down the two plates in front of us, which had odd-looking purple stuff on them as Korn backed up and stood nearby.

"Thank you, Korn. That will be all for now, so I'll call you if our guest and I need anything," Liquiir told him, and Korn nodded.

"Very well, my lord," Korn replied and he left the room, then I gazed at the odd-looking purple stuff that was on my plate.

"Um...sorry if I'm being rude, but what kind of food is this? I've never seen anything like this before," I pointed out with a look of uncertainty and Liquiir waved it off.

"No need to apologize and that is some of the finest eggs in this universe, which I discovered on a planet three hundred light years away from Earth about two hundred years ago...though I know two certain people I know would be interested," Liquiir said with a frown, and I did a double take at what he said.

'Wait, 200 years?! He's got to be joking, right?' I thought in bewilderment as Liquiir grinned cheerfully.

"Well? No need to be shy since it's not poisonous," Liquiir encouraged me.

I was more than confused by how he was acting, considering he just killed a guy, but I picked up my fork and knife before cutting up a piece of the eggs and sweated nervously as I went to take a bite, then my eyes widened at the incredible flavor hitting my tastebuds and I finished off the rest of my eggs more eagerly.

"So, how is it?" Liquiir asked with a smile as I let out a sigh of contentment.

"It's...different but in a good way, and I've never tasted something like this with an interesting flavor before so thanks for the eggs," I complimented him with a small smile and Liquiir chuckled.

"No need to thank me since I'm always happy to have guests in my home...though I think it's time for me to explain why you and your mother are here," Liquiir told me as his smile faded into a more serious expression, making my good mood go away and I nodded.

"Yeah, I have a lot of questions," I agreed and Liquiir stood up from his seat.

"In that case, come with me because all of your questions will be answered, not to mention it's better if I show you," Liquiir told me while gesturing for me to follow him.

I left my seat and stayed behind Liquiir as we left the dining room and started walking down a hallway for a while when we eventually came across a door.

Liquiir opened it, the door leading outside, and we left the building as I was looking around at all the lush and healthy trees when we soon arrived at a nice beach that had two beach chairs.

"Wow...nice view," I commented since the beaches of Miami didn't compare to this one.

"Incredible, isn't it? All of this is similar to my home planet where I was born and raised when I used to be mortal, so I just wanted a sense of home when Korn and I created this place," Liquiir explained with a soft smile of nostalgia as we headed to the beach chairs and Liquiir went to sit down on one of them, only I hesitated since I didn't know why he was showing me this.

"Go on, it won't bite if that's what you're worried about," Liquiir joked with a smirk and that prompted me to sit down as well, then I looked at him.

"So...what now?" I inquired and Liquiir merely reached over to a large book that was on a table next to the chair, opening it and revealing that it was a photo album as I could see many photographs in it.

"Here, all your questions will be answered in this photo album," Liquiir told me hesitantly as he passed the photo album to me.

I looked through the photo album and saw pictures of my mother, a woman with brown hair and green eyes, and a man who bore a resemblance to me as he had the same dirty blond hair while having blue eyes.

He and my mother were smiling in the photos as many of them showed my mother and the man doing different things or relaxing together as I was confused as to why Liquiir was showing me this, but then I soon put the pieces together.

"This man...is my biological father...why do you have pictures of my mom and biological father?" I asked and Liquiir looked away with a somber expression.

The fox man stood up from his seat and walked into my point of view, staring at me with regret while resting his hands on his hips.

A purple aura appeared around him as I was confused and uneasy at first, but then it changed to shock and disbelief as Liquiir started transforming before my eyes with the fox man's body becoming an exact lookalike of the man in the photos as his clothes warped into a white t-shirt, grey sweatpants, and sneakers.

"You look like that man in the photo album...why do you look exactly like...wait, you're him?" I asked hesitantly and Liquiir sent me a solemn smile.

"Yes, I'm the man in the photo album so I'm your biological father...my son, it's truly wonderful to meet you after all these years," Liquiir told me quietly as he changed back and my breathing started picking up as I trembled.

"What...how...you're my father? No, this isn't possible...my mother told me that my biological father lived in another country! You can't be my father, you just can't be!" I exclaimed in denial, getting off the beach chair and stumbling back.

"I know it is difficult to believe that I am your father, but it's true...so many things I missed out by not being there for you your entire life and I hate myself for that, so-" Liquiir tried to say as he walked over to place a hand on my shoulder to comfort me but I smacked it away while tears of anger and frustration welled up.

"Quit fucking lying to me! If you are my father, then where the hell were you for the past 18 years?! Why did you leave my mother if you claim to love her so much?!" I demanded with a look of rage as a purple aura started surrounding me and Liquiir tensed up.

"Easy, I know this isn't easy for you to hear and I swear I'll explain everything to you, but you need to calm down or you might destroy this place by accident," Liquiir reasoned but I was too overwhelmed by a combination of what had happened yesterday and the knowledge that this being in front of me is my father.

"Don't tell me to calm down because I have a right to be pissed at you! Why the hell did you abandon my mother?! Answer me, you son of a bitch!" I shouted tearfully as sand was being kicked up and trees were being ripped out of the ground with the beach chairs and table sent flying from the pressure of my power getting stronger.

At that moment, it was too much for me to handle so something in me cracked and I roared as the sheer winds grew stronger while I was engulfed by the purple aura with bio-electricity crackling around me as my body started transforming uncontrollably, fur sprouting all over me while my head became vulpine, and two tails sprouted from my spine as my frame grew more leaner with powerful muscle.

In an uncontrollable rage, I started attacking Liquiir and he went to dodge and block the fast and vicious punches and kicks I was sending his way when he suddenly disappeared as I tried to kick him, then I looked around and turned behind me just to get punted into a tree like a football.

"Enough, you are losing control of yourself so calm down or I will have no choice but to stop you, even if it means hurting you to do it!" Liquiir shouted but I wasn't listening as I threw the wreckage off me and charged right at him again.

I kept trying to hit him but he continued to block and dodge my attacks as I was getting more and more enraged by it when Liquiir knocked a fist out of the way and flicked me in the forehead, which threw me into a boulder that shattered and I let out a wheezing shout from the pain that exploded throughout my body, then I struggled to get up as I spat out blood.

"I'll give you one last chance, calm down and I'll explain everything to you or I will have no choice but to knock you out to prevent you from destroying everything," Liquiir stated with a hard expression and my power and rage grew stronger so I was about to attack him again when something tapped me on the back of the head and everything went black.

"Ugh...what happened?" I groaned as I regained consciousness, opening my eyes and sitting up while holding my head when I noticed that something was wrong once I realized it felt furry and inhuman.

"You're awake, how are you feeling?" Liquiir asked in concern, and I looked at him and Korn who were standing near the bed I was on.

"Something's wrong...why do I feel different?" I asked warily.

"You might want to check yourself in a mirror," Korn told me as he gestured his staff at the nearby wall mirror, making me confused at first as I got out of bed and headed over to the mirror but then I was shocked when I saw a male anthro fox with two tails staring back at me with widened eyes.

I touched my muzzle and turned my head left and right to examine myself as I looked almost like Liquiir except for two tails instead of three and wearing different clothes while I examined my hands next and clenched them, recalling how I had changed into this and attacked Liquiir while I was enraged so I looked at that fox man who was my father.

"Sorry...I didn't mean to lose control like that," I said quietly as my ears lowered to express my mood.

"You've just had a big revelation thrown at you after nearly losing your mother and almost dying so I don't blame you for what happened," Liquiir reassured me and I looked thoughtful.

"Thanks...so, you're my father? There are so many things I want to ask you but before I do, how do I change back to normal?" I asked with a frown.

"It's rather simple, just try to picture your human form while concentrating on changing back," Liquiir instructed and I nodded in response.

I looked back at my reflection, attempting to follow my father's instructions by focusing on changing back and I suddenly felt the bizarre sensation of transforming, seeing my vulpine appearance shifting and altering until I was back to normal so I merely touched my face in amazement.

"I'm not human...am I?" I wondered quietly as I looked at my father.

"You are more than human, now I believe it is time to explain everything to you," Liquiir said as he gestured for me to follow him as Korn separated from us so I went to do that as my father cleared his throat.

As we walked outside, my father explained how he was a god of destruction who ensured balance throughout the universe by destroying planets that were a threat to the universe and its development.

He told me that he wasn't the only one as there were 11 other universes with their own destroyer gods and angel attendants who do the same, though he told me that the other destroyers were either benevolent or reveled in their status with some having short tempers.

My father also explained that he took on human form sometime before he met my mother and went to Earth to observe it for any possible threats to the development of the universe and described how he met my mother, his tone holding a bit of fondness in it as he talked about how they were very much in love and how I was conceived 18 years ago as he told me how much he loved my mother and how passionate she was about a lot of things, something I agreed with.

Finally, my father's tone of voice became full of regret as he explained how he was forced to decide to leave my mother because he was starting to slack in his duties and that he had to tell my mother the truth about who he really was while also revealing himself to her.

He mentioned that they had parted on friendly terms since he didn't want to take my mother away from everything she knew, but he couldn't stay either since not doing his job properly would've gotten one of his superiors involved and he couldn't let that happen.

I stayed quiet throughout the entire thing, just listening and I eventually started feeling sorry for him since I couldn't imagine how difficult it was for him to leave my mother and how much of a burden the life of a destroyer god could be, then my father finished explaining as we stopped at the newly fixed beach and its surrounding forest while he looked at me.

"So...that's everything, and if you want to hate me for leaving your mother, then I'll understand since I hate myself for leaving her.

My mortal race is very passionate, and we mate for life, which made leaving your mother the hardest decision I've ever had to do in my life and if I had lost her yesterday...it would've killed me," Liquiir told me as his eyes were filled with sorrow and guilt.

"I don't blame you anymore...I can't imagine what it was like making that kind of decision and how lonely it is being a god of destruction, not to mention my mother taught me to forgive those who are worthy of forgiveness and redemption.

So, what do we do now?" I asked as my father seemed to appear relieved by my words, but my question soon made him look deadly serious.

"I'm sorry to put this on you so suddenly since I was hoping to have you adjust to everything, but word about you had reached the other destroyer gods and our superiors so they want to meet you personally, which means that the gods will gather together for the first time in a millennia and that I am to introduce you to them," Liquiir explained and I tensed up.

"W-What's going to happen to me?" I asked nervously and my father sighed.

"Hopefully, they'll be more curious than anything else and wish to meet you but listen to me carefully, they are not to be trifled with so you must be on your best behavior and show respect since they are highly important deities that do not take kindly to even the slightest form of disrespect, understand?" Liquiir empathized and I nodded just as I noticed Korn walking over to us.

"My lord, the boy's mother is awake and wishes to speak to you," Korn informed the fox destroyer god, causing him and I to widen our eyes and we found ourselves bolting to the palace before hurrying to the room my mother was resting in and going in to see her out of bed and she quickly looked at us as her eyes widened at the sight of my father.

"Liquiir...is that really you?" Mom asked and my father softened his eyes while slowly approaching my mother tentatively.

"Jessica..." Liquiir trailed off as he stood in front of my mother, then they slowly reached out to pull each other into an embrace while my father's tails coiled around my mother.

I couldn't help but smile while seeing such a tender and affectionate moment between them since it was well-deserved after being apart for 18 years.

I was happy that they were finally reunited and that I was able to meet my father for the first time in my life, even if it got off to a rocky start but that didn't matter anymore as long as we were all together now while Korn soon showed up and showed a slight smile at the sight, but he cleared his throat.

"My lord, forgive me for interrupting, but we must head to Grand Zeno's palace and cannot afford to be late," Korn pointed out, then Liquiir and my mother pulled back just as the former went to look at his attendant.

"Of course, we'll head there immediately," Liquiir replied and gestured for me and my mother to follow him and Korn so we started walking down the hall as I looked at my mother.

"I'm so glad that you're okay...when they ripped you out of my arms and dragged you away, I was terrified those invaders would've killed you or worse.

I'm just relieved Dad and Korn showed up in time," I admitted, and my mother placed a hand on my shoulder.

"I know...so, Korn told me what's been going on and how we're going to meet other gods, wish I was properly dressed for the occasion since I want to make a good first impression," Mom told me and I could see why she would think that since she was merely wearing a t-shirt and jeans at the moment.

My father's ears perked up at that and he sent Korn a nod, who raised his staff and Mom's outfit changed to a more appropriate attire as she wore red ceremonial robes that had a black sash and Japanese sandals as my mother blinked at that.

"I don't think I will ever get used to that, but thank you either way," Mom told Korn, who nodded in response as we left the building and made our way to the beach.

"Okay Korn, take us to Grand Master Zeno's palace," Liquiir ordered as he gestured for me and my mother to place our hands on his shoulders, which we did.

"At once, my lord," Korn replied as Liquiir placed a hand on his back, then my mother and I let out a yelp as we were all covered in a blue transparent sphere and suddenly shot into the sky.

We left the planet entirely before moving through space at a high rate of speed, my mother letting out a gasp of shock while I was speechless that we were actually in space without the use of a ship but that tiny feeling of uncertainty still itched in the back of my mind as I didn't know what would happen next, but I had a feeling we would find out once we reached our next destination.

Chapter Text

After a short amount of time, we came to a sudden stop and I saw that we were standing in front of an Asian palace that was floating.

I also noticed that there were giant floating stones with twelve large orbs surrounding the palace as the orbs each had a universe inside them, the sights making my mother gasp.

"What...is this place?" I muttered in astonishment.

"We're at Lord Omni-King Zeno's palace but let me give you and your mother a head's up first so listen carefully, Lord Zeno is even more powerful than me and the other destroyers, our angel attendants, and our superior the Grand Priest.

Now, as I said before, the other gods don't take kindly to even the slightest hint of disrespect, and under no circumstances are you to irritate the Grand Priest or cause issues with Lord Zeno so be sure to show respect and only speak when you are spoken to, understood?" Liquiir warned while sending my mother and me a deadly serious look, making us nod.

"Are Zeno and the Grand Priest really that terrifying?" I asked curiously and Liquiir looked grim.

"The Omni-King is far beyond us in terms of power and experience while the Grand Priest is the father of Korn and the other angel attendants, which makes him more powerful than even them.

It would be wise not to anger him or Lord Zeno if you and your mother can help it," Liquiir replied, causing chills to run down my spine so I made a mental note of that just as a man with purple skin, white spiky hair, pointy ears, and strange clothes appear next to us.

"Lord Liquiir, it's been a long time," the man greeted with a calm smile.

"It certainly has been, old friend," Liquiir agreed just as the man spotted me and my mother.

"This must be your mate and your son I had been informed about so hello, my name is Iru and it's a pleasure to meet you both," Iru introduced, and I lowered my head shyly while my mother smiled at him warmly.

"It's nice to meet you too, Iru," Mom told him and I nodded in agreement.

"Gregory, Jessica, Iru is the supreme kai of our universe, so he has to watch over it and all its creation while creating life from my destruction to ensure balance," Liquiir explained, and my mother looked intrigued by that.

"Interesting, I knew there was more you haven't told me that night 18 years ago when you revealed yourself to me, but I never thought the realm of the gods could be so complex," Mom commented curiously and my father smiled at her in response as Iru cleared his throat.

"Well then, let's not keep the Omni-King and the Grand Priest waiting," Iru said, and we started approaching the palace.

We went up the stairs and opened the door, entering a dark void that had many dimly lit white pillars inside as I looked around in astonishment.

It seemed as if we were heading in no direction whatsoever until we eventually stopped in a large bright room where a short man with a resemblance to Korn stood before us, then my father, Korn, and Iru kneeled down into a bow and that prompted me and my mother to do the same.

"Lord Grand Priest, we have arrived," Iru announced while I kept my head low.

I didn't know what would happen next since this was a whole new world my mother and I had never experienced before and it was a little overwhelming for me, so the only thing I could do was stay quiet and wait until I was permitted to speak, then I heard footsteps approaching my location and saw the Grand Priest appearing before me.

"You are Liquiir's child? Raise your head so that I can have a good look at you," the Grand Priest told me, and I looked up at him.

I saw him staring at me with a thoughtful frown and I knew he was studying me from every angle, so I was nervous and felt uncertain about what would happen to me since this man had my fate in his hands.

"What is your name, young one?" the Grand Priest inquired after he was done studying me and I swallowed a lump that had formed in my throat.

"Gregory Thompson, sir," I responded, and the Grand Priest nodded, appearing to be satisfied.

"Very well then, there will be a few differences during this summit since, at this time, I will call for the destroyer gods to gather and I will speak to the other 11 gods of destruction and their kaioshin.

That will allow them a few moments to consider what is going on before Lord Zeno and I announce the reason behind the summit, where we will call you to step forward to introduce yourself.

From there...well, it will be up to Lord Zeno to decide what will happen next after the situation is explained," the Grand Priest explained before gesturing for us to stand and we obliged as he raised a hand and the ground beneath us started glowing.

I felt awestruck as a circular area of light surrounded the floor we were standing on and I held back a startled yelp when we all sunk into the floor while my mother flinched in alarm, but Liquiir went to take her hand to squeeze it to reassure her, and then we fell for a short amount of time until we landed onto a round platform.

I whipped my head around in disbelief and spotted a small platform nearby descending toward the area where we would have the summit that would decide my fate.

The area looked like a martial arts tournament ring of some kind as the small platform stopped above the ring and the Grand Priest gently flew over to it until he stood on the platform.

"All gods, gather here!" the Grand Priest called out, moving his hands to the sides and pointing his fingers in the east and west directions, which I assume is where the other 11 destroyer gods were waiting for us.

The moment the words left his mouth, the platform my father, mother, Korn, Iru, and I were standing on had lowered out of the area we had been floating in and descended towards the area that the Grand Priest was floating above.

As our platform moved through the air, I looked around and spotted 11 other platforms that each had three people I deduced were the other gods, angels, and Supreme Kais.

From what I saw, the other 11 gods came in different shapes and sizes, two of them each being an overweight and skinny purple sphinx cat along with a robot, a yellow mouse, a woman wearing a ceremonial headdress, a pink elephant, a short man covered in hair while having pointy ears, a strange humanoid with red hair, a short pudgy man with green skin and red hair that was in a receding hairline while he had a beard, a man who looked like a clown, and a fishman.

At the moment, the people on the other platforms weren't paying attention to us and were focused on what the Grand Priest had to say.

I waited patiently for all 12 platforms to come to a stop near the level that the Grand Priest's platform was at while keeping my attention on the other gods of destruction since I could see that they were already looking around and apparently taking in what was currently going on.

"Welcome, gods of destruction and kaioshin of the 12 universes. I'm sure all of you are interested in hearing why you have been called away from your various universes and asked to attend this summit of the gods," the Grand Priest said, his voice carrying a bit so that we all could hear him without any difficulty as some of the gods were either close or far from his platform.

"Indeed, I only hope that we weren't called in to hear that Beerus is causing trouble or that he managed to find someone who might actually care about him," the yellow mouse remarked as he shot a look of contempt at the skinny sphinx cat, who glared back at him with an equal amount of displeasure.

"We're not here to discuss my personal life, Quitela. The Lord Grand Priest has called us here for a reason so we must listen to him," Beerus stated while crossing his arms.

"He is quite correct, the reason why we are here is to discuss a situation that occurred yesterday in the 8th universe and introduce a demigod who has just awoken his status and divine power for the first time," the Grand Priest said, causing nearly all of the gods, angels, and Kais to look either shocked or curious.

"A demigod...how is this possible? Such a thing has never happened before, so I wonder who this new demigod looks like..." the female goddess trailed off, looking quite interested.

"Interesting, a demigod has appeared for the very first time? That would mean Liquiir mated with a mortal so if a demigod has awoken, then that will make this summit very interesting indeed," the short hairy god commented.

"I am also interested in meeting this new demigod, especially since he is from the 8th universe and is Liquiir's son," the humanoid with red hair chimed in as he stroked what appeared to be whiskers on his cheeks.

"And you will meet him, but first, Lord Zeno has arrived," the Grand Priest stated just as a throne with a small humanoid person with an oval head appeared in mid-air with two equally strange-looking men.

When Zeno appeared, everyone immediately kneeled into a bow and my mother and I quickly followed suit since I wanted to make a good first impression with my mother no doubt feeling the same way, not to mention I didn't want to come off as disrespectful and irritate the other gods.

I gazed up at Zeno, who looked at all of us as if he was studying us to find someone or something specific but eventually, he smiled which was followed by the Grand Priest beckoning us to stand.

"It's been a long time, everyone," Zeno greeted with a childish voice, causing all 12 gods to nod as he looked at the Grand Priest and asked him, "Hey, Grand Priest, where's the new demigod? I don't see him anywhere."

"He is standing behind Liquiir and is waiting to be called forward, so shall I call for him to step forward?" the Grand Priest offered politely.

"Yes, yes!" Zeno exclaimed in excitement, looking very eager to meet me.

The Grand Priest looked to Liquiir and nodded, prompting my father to move aside and he and my mother each placed a hand on both shoulders in encouragement.

I stepped forward into everyone's line of sight, then I saw the other gods, angels, and Kais looking at me with expressions that differed to show their individual reactions to meeting me for the first time as I stood near the edge of the platform, remaining silent as Zeno observed me.

"Sire, allow me to introduce the son of Liquiir and the multiverse's first demigod, Gregory Thompson. Young Gregory, this is Lord Zeno, the King of All," the Grand Priest told me as I felt a little nervous and bowed my head.

"U-Um, hello...it's truly an honor to meet you," I said shyly, somehow feeling untold power coming off of Zeno that far surpassed my father and the other gods around me so it did intimidate me a little bit, not going to lie there.

"Ooh, he looks interesting!" Zeno stated excitedly while he left his throne and circled around me in mid-air as he added, "Very interesting!"

'Strange, he's like a child,' I thought as Zeno's behavior wasn't what I was expecting but then Zeno saw my mother and gently flew over to her.

"Hello, what's your name?" Zeno asked curiously and my mother looked taken aback by having the attention of a very powerful being on her.

"My name is Jessica," Mom replied and Zeno smiled as he looked at her with intrigue.

"You look pretty, miss," Zeno told her and my mother looked surprised by the compliment until she appeared flattered by what he said.

"Oh, thank you for the compliment and it's very nice to meet you, Lord Zeno," Mom said, causing Zeno to giggle while my father looked amused, and the other gods appeared to not know how to react to the interaction they were witnessing.

"I cannot believe what I'm seeing..." Quitela muttered in shock which caused Zeno to turn around and stare at him, also prompting the Grand Priest to shoot a look of disapproval at the yellow mouse.

"Quitela, need I remind you that you are in the presence of Lord Zeno?" the Grand Priest warned, causing Quitela to gulp as the Grand Priest asked him, "Now then, before Lord Zeno gets upset, would you care to explain what you mean by that?"

"I cannot speak for the other 10 gods of destruction or Liquiir, but I was expecting to meet a great warrior...what we got, however, is a weak individual that doesn't deserve to walk among us in the realm of the gods," Quitela pointed out while staring at me with a frown.

"Lord Grand Priest, I hate to agree with Quitela, but I am also disappointed in this new demigod who is among us because, at his current level, he is the weakest individual to ever grace us with his presence.

I would wager that any one of us could easily flick our fingers and knock him into the ground with little effort," the clown god spoke up while giving me a critical gaze.

"He is much stronger than you think!" Zeno declared and turned to look at me while asking, "You are stronger than what you are putting out, right?"

"I'm sorry, but I can't answer that question since I have no training or experience on how to use my full strength so once I'm able to use my full power, then I should be able to answer your question," I replied, making sure to choose my words carefully.

"I sincerely doubt that," the clown god stated as he crossed his arms and showed a look of skepticism when Zeno flew over to the Grand Priest.

I saw Zeno whispering something to the Grand Priest, who was quietly replying back, and I started feeling anxious since I didn't know what they were planning.

It was possible their quiet discussion could result in a decision that would change the course of my future, though they eventually stopped whispering to each other, and the Grand Priest turned to look at all of us while Zeno flew back to his throne.

"Lord Zeno and I have discussed what should be done concerning the new demigod and agree that young Gregory is too inexperienced when it comes to using his awakened divine energy, which is why he shall be trained by his father to learn how to control it and any others who wish to volunteer in assisting the young demigod's training shall be allowed to visit the 8th universe.

But he'll also need experience in combat as well so once the time comes and he is a fully experienced fighter with control over his destroyer energy and regular energy, another summit shall be called, and his skills shall be tested to see if he is worthy to walk among us or not.

Lord Iwan, what do you say to this decision?" the Grand Priest asked the short hairy god.

"I think it's logical for him to train and gain experience first before we test him...that said, I think it will be interesting to see what young Gregory can do once that time comes," Iwan replied.

"Very well, then," the Grand Priest said and looked at the female goddess to ask, "Lady Heles, what are your thoughts about this decision?"

"I agree with Iwan, the young demigod should have more experience first before we can test him, so I am also interested to see how strong he'll be once his training is complete and becomes a very skilled fighter," Heles answered while eying my athletic build.

"Of course, so Lord Mosco, what is your opinion on Lord Zeno's decision?" the Grand Priest asked the green robot, who beeped his answer.

"Lord Mosco says that he also thinks young Gregory is too weak at the moment, so he agrees that the demigod needs more experience first before we can test him," the kai with the eyeglasses translated.

"I see...Lord Quitela, am I correct in assuming you also agree with this decision?" the Grand Priest inquired.

"Personally, I don't believe that he belongs in the realm of the gods and should be put in his place, but I shall respect Lord Zeno's decision," Quitela declared while glaring at me in distaste.

My mother started looking peeved by his attitude toward me, but my father put a hand on her shoulder and subtly shook his head to get her to calm down before she said or did something that would get us into a lot of trouble.

"And what about you, Lord Arak?" the Grand Priest asked the humanoid god.

"I believe that young Gregory has more power in him than the others believe, so I wish to personally test him myself once he gains enough experience and the time comes for him to be tested," Arak replied while crossing his arms.

"Understood, and what about you, Lord Champa?" the Grand Priest asked the overweight sphinx cat.

"I think that this is a rare opportunity to see what a demigod is capable of, so I also agree with the decision," Champa agreed and the Grand Priest turned his attention to Beerus.

"Lord Beerus, how about you?" the Grand Priest asked and Beerus smirked.

"I would be delighted to see what young Gregory will be capable of once the time comes if only to entertain me at least," Beerus stated while shooting me a look of glee.

The rest of the summit went on with my father and the last four gods Sidra, Rumsshi, Belmod, and Giin agreeing to the decision until the Grand Priest finished the summit by telling me to work hard and prepare for when the time came, or I will be erased for not exceeding everyone's expectations of me.

Hearing that scared me, but I agreed to the decision since I had a lot of work to do if I hoped to earn my place in the realm of the gods.

I saw the Grand Priest return to Zeno, and they disappeared, which told me that the summit was over so Quitela, Champa, Sidra, and Belmod departed after the Grand Priest and Zeno did, each claiming that they had to return to their duties.

As for Mosco, Arak, Rumsshi, and Giin, they also departed a few minutes after the previous group left and wished me well while Heles mentioned that she had some business to attend to back in her universe.

Iwan stayed behind for a few more minutes to wish me luck and departed from the palace as well, though Beerus stayed with me, my father, my mother, Korn, and Iru as we left the palace until Beerus, his attendant Whis, and his supreme kai Shin looked at us.

"Gregory, we are all expecting great things from you so do not disappoint us since I would hate for you to bore me to the point of destroying you for wasting everyone's time and not living up to our expectations," Beerus stated stoically and I gulped at the threat.

"Don't worry, I swear that I won't disappoint all of you," I vowed and Beerus chuckled with a look of amusement on his feline face.

"It's going to take more than words to convince me, boy, so prove it through your own actions instead," Beerus told me and I nodded until he, Whis, and Shin vanished.

"Well, how about we go home?" Liquiir offered and I sighed while sending him a nod, saying our goodbyes to Iru until it was just me, my father, my mother, and Korn as we went home and arrived at the beach on Liquiir's world.

'Shit, talk about having a lot placed on my shoulders,' I thought while letting out a heavy sigh, knowing that it was going to be a long hard road for me if I want to earn my place in the realm of the gods.

"Are you okay?" Liquiir asked with a look of concern.

"I don't know what to say but I have to admit, I'm pretty terrified right now," I admitted uneasily and Liquiir placed a hand on my shoulder.

"Greg, I know you're scared and there's no shame in that since you and your mother have entered into a whole new world completely unprepared.

Anyone would be scared if they were in your shoes," Liquiir reassured me, and my mother frowned.

"So, what happens next?" Mom wondered and Liquiir sighed.

"For now, you and our son rest and relax to adjust to everything that happened, and then Korn and I begin Greg's training to prepare him for the future summit that will happen once he has enough skills and experience for whatever Lord Zeno and the Grand Priest has planned for him.

Still, we should also take the opportunity to catch up since I missed out on 18 years of my son's life and I want to make up for that," Liquiir replied, and my mother and I agreed so we all headed back to Liquiir's home and decided to relax for now.

It's been a few days since the summit, and we spent all that time catching up as I started to get to know my father and hung out with him while my mother also took the opportunity to spend time with my father.

I gave them privacy since I had an idea as to what she wanted to do first and it made my face turn red at the thought of my own parents doing that to express how happy they were to be together again, though I guess it was needed after being apart for 18 years.

Still, it was nice to relax and adjust to this new life of mine since I needed it after everything that happened but then it was time to begin my training.

I was a little nervous since I didn't know how it would go or what kind of mentor my father would be, but we were now standing on the beach with Korn as my mother watched from one of the beach chairs.

"Okay Greg, it's time to get started with your training so are you ready?" Liquiir asked and I swallowed a lump before nodding.

"Y-Yeah, I'm ready," I said anxiously and Liquiir sent me a reassuring smile.

"It's okay, I know you're nervous so let's start out with the basics and see where we'll go from there, sound good?" Liquiir offered and I relaxed slightly.

"Yeah, that sounds okay," I replied and Liquiir smiled in response.

"Good to hear, now I noticed that you seem to know what you were doing back when you took down those invaders and when you fought me, so did you learn some form of martial arts?" Liquiir asked and I nodded.

"Yeah, I took classes a lot while growing up so I'm a 3rd-degree black belt in karate and kung fu," I answered and Liquiir looked thoughtful.

"Okay, so we won't need to teach you much about hand-to-hand combat but I'm sure your teachers told you that you need to train every day to keep your skills sharp.

Seeing as how you know a bit about martial arts, we'll move on to mastering ki instead," Liquiir told me, and I looked puzzled.

"What's ki?" I inquired in confusion.

"To put it simply, ki is a tangible force of energy that resides in all living beings with its major focus being in the center of the body.

Once you learn to draw it out, you can be able to manipulate it and use it outside of your body for many different techniques but because there are physical limits to the strength of the body itself, it is necessary to increase one's ki to overcome that barrier and become stronger.

Usually, the more concentrated the masses are, the more time the user requires to draw it out by powering up so when a fighter gathers ki, they can gain enhanced strength, speed, endurance, and can increase the power of their attacks to inflict greater damage to their opponent.

Still, it has its drawbacks since the more ki is increased, the more difficult it is to control so ki control is extremely important and one thing you should know is that energy can be lost when the user sustains injuries.

So, maintaining the proper balance between the body and spirit is important in utilizing energy, so the more properly balanced they are, the more energy a user can project," Liquiir explained, and I hummed thoughtfully.

"I see, I'll need to keep that in mind so what type of energy do I have?" I inquired curiously.

"You have two types because of your status as a demigod, regular energy and destroyer energy so regular energy is something anyone can use if they learn how to wield it.

Then there is destroyer energy so pay attention," Liquiir said as he held up a finger and a small dark purple orb of energy appeared above it until he casually flicked his finger at a tree and the small orb impacted the tree, which disintegrated, and my eyes widened.

"Holy shit," I said with an expression of shock.

"As you can see, I can control just how much destroyer energy I can use and that kind of control took years for me to learn since destroyer energy is no joke on account of how it can be capable of destroying the universe if it's uncontrollable," Liquiir explained with a serious expression and that reminded me of something.

"That reminds me...a few days ago, when you disintegrated that invader, you said the word Hakai so what was that?" I asked and Liquiir started looking grim.

"Something I hope you never have to use, so Hakai is a powerful ability all destroyer gods can use where it can destroy almost anything with little effort, even intangible beings such as spirits aren't safe from this.

Once it's used, the target merely ceases to exist in both body and soul to the point where they are unable to pass on to the otherworld or even be able to reincarnate, just simply become nothing but dust while feeling the worst kind of agony you couldn't imagine while dying from it," Liquiir told me, his description sending chills down my spine as I started looking unsettled.

"Jesus..." I trailed off while appearing disturbed and Liquiir nodded.

"Yes, though enough about that since let's get you started by learning how to use your regular energy first," Liquiir said to change the subject and I sighed.

"Okay, so how do I use my regular energy?" I inquired as I made sure to pay attention.

"Close your eyes and concentrate, look deep inside yourself to find that sensation of power you felt when you were dealing with the invaders and when you fought me, then reach out and grab for it once you find it," Liquiir instructed and I nodded before closing my eyes.

I concentrated and started searching deep inside myself for that sensation I felt before twice as I ignored everything else around me when I eventually saw it in my mind, some kind of large orb of light that I assumed was my regular energy, so I mentally reached out to it and went to grab it, but it slipped away, and I shot my eyes open.

"Shit, I nearly had it," I grumbled and Liquiir chuckled.

"It's okay, nobody gets it right on the first try and it even took me a while to get it right so keep trying and you'll be able to do it," Liquiir encouraged and I sighed before closing my eyes and trying again.

I kept trying to unlock my regular energy but it was more difficult than I thought so I had to attempt it more than a few times, and I was currently getting frustrated and about to call it quits during my latest attempt when I managed to get ahold of the orb in my mind.

I suddenly felt a rush of power flooding my system as if I was being fully energized after consuming several energy drinks and my eyes shot open as I could see a golden flaming aura surrounding me.

"Holy crap, I did it," I gasped and Liquiir smiled.

"Good job, I knew you could do it so now begins the next step, learning how to fly," Liquiir said, and I was surprised by that, but I guess I shouldn't be since I've seen Zeno or the Grand Priest flying a few days ago.

"Alright, so mind giving me a demonstration?" I questioned and Liquiir smirked.

"See for yourself," Liquiir remarked, and then I started gawking as he started rising up off the ground and started floating a few feet above me while I looked baffled.

"Okay...that's cool," I commented as Liquiir lowered himself back onto the beach.

"I suppose it is to someone who's never seen a person fly before so, for you to do this, you concentrate and have your energy travel to your legs before spreading it out to the rest of your body.

Go on, give it a try," Liquiir instructed, and I nodded in response.

I concentrated on using my regular energy and attempted to do what my father told me to do so I focused on having my energy go down to my legs and have it spread out to the rest of my body.

I suddenly felt the strangest sensation of being weightless, just as I started lifting from the ground and sucked in a breath as my mother was staring in shock, but I started panicking when I kept rising through the air without stopping.

"Oh crap, how do I get down?!" I exclaimed as I started flailing my legs despite my father's reassurances that I was okay, then I suddenly somersaulted in mid-air and let out a shout of alarm until I stopped ascending and found myself floating upside down as my father laughed at my misfortune and Korn sighed, then I crossed my arms and sent my father an unamused expression.

"Very funny, now can you help me get down from here?" I requested dryly and Liquiir chuckled.

"Sorry, I'll come up and help since it wouldn't be a good idea to have you learn how to stop flying while you're up there," Liquiir said before he flew up to help me get back down.

Once I was back on the beach, my father had me learn more about flying and how to control it as it took a few tries and a few mishaps but I managed to get the hang of it.

Then we moved on to learning how to use energy attacks and it was a little trickier than unlocking my energy and learning how to fly so it took several tries until I was able to master it as a few weeks went by when my father took me aside to tell me that he and my mother had a surprise for me.

"So, are you going to take your hands off my eyes yet?" I wondered dryly as my father was leading me somewhere with his hands covering my eyes.

"Not yet, I'll let you know when we're there," Liquiir said with a hint of mischief in his voice and I sighed as I let him keep guiding me.

I didn't know how long we were walking but then we entered a room somewhere and my father removed his hands from my eyes so that I could see where we were, which was the dining room as my mother was in the room.

I was taken by surprise by what appeared to be a cake on the dining table as the cake had a few lit candles in it, though the cake was kind of in a sorry state as it looked a little burnt with the icing a bit messy and I looked at my father, who had the decency to look embarrassed.

"Your mother told me a few days ago that today was your birthday, so I attempted to bake a cake by myself, and as you can see...it didn't exactly go so well but hey, it's the thought that counts at least," Liquiir explained sheepishly but I went to wrap my arms around his torso to hug him and he froze while I pulled away and sent him a smile.

"Thank you, I'm very touched that you would go out of your way to do this for me," I said and Liquiir sighed.

"I missed out on a lot of birthdays, so think of this as a way for me to make it up to you, now let's celebrate," Liquiir declared with a smile of joy, and I went to blow out the candles until we all went to get a slice.

We merely chatted while enjoying the cake and simply bonded as I felt happy that my father was now a part of the family, so a short time went by until it was time for me to open my presents, then I picked one that was long and undid the wrapping.

My eyes widened when I saw that it was a sheathed katana and I went to pull the sword out from its holster, then I stared at the blade as it shined beautifully and saw that the blade had the engraving of a kitsune on it and I gently ran my fingers across the side of the blade.

"Like it? That sword was made from the hardest metal in the entire cosmos, so happy birthday," Liquiir told me as I holstered the sword and looked at him.

"Thank you, Dad," I said softly and Liquiir smiled in response before I went to open up a few more presents that I loved before I reached for the final present and undid the wrapping.

I let out a gasp while holding up what it was, seeing three chained necklaces that had little oval jewels with each of them having the colors purple, white, and yellow.

"Hon, they are beautiful," Mom said as she gazed at them in amazement and Liquiir smiled softly.

"I got them for all three of us so the purple one's for Greg, the white one's for you, and the yellow one's for me," Liquiir explained and Mom looked touched that he did that for us.

I handed the white necklace to Mom and the yellow one to Liquiir before I went to put mine on, then I just looked down at the sparking purple jewel hanging from my neck and I teared up slightly.

I'll always treasure these gifts as I saw Mom and Liquiir putting theirs on, so even though it took 18 years for us to reunite as a family, now we have all the time in the world to be one.

Even though I have no idea what'll happen next in this new life I found myself in, I know that as a family, we'll be ready for anything down the road.

Chapter Text

I stood in the middle of a clearing, my narrowed eyes focused on the training dummies as my hand was resting on the handle of my sword that was strapped to my back, slowly getting into a combat stance as I got ready.

A leaf gently flew down from a tree and once it hit the grassy ground, I charged forward and pulled out my sword before slashing one of the training dummies in half, practicing my skills with my sword as I was fully focused on my training at the moment.

It has been four years since the summit and during that time, my father and Korn became my teachers and taught me a lot about combat and using my energy as I made sure to pay attention, but they had made my clothes more weighted with a simple technique and my father explained that it was to build up muscle mass so that I could become stronger.

Say what you will about my father, he can have quite the sadistic streak despite his cheery exterior so I was forced to do hundreds of push-ups, sit-ups, crunches, and squats, and I had to run laps around the planet, but I wasn't allowed to power up or he would have me start all over again for cheating, much to my dismay.

Still, I definitely felt that I was making progress as whenever my body was getting used to the current weights, Korn would add more and more but there were times a few of the other destroyer gods would visit to see how I was progressing, and they had their own opinions about my progress.

While I was busy getting stronger with my weighted clothes, I was also taught how to use my new sword and there was just something about learning how to use it that felt satisfying while I was also practicing using my regular energy, learning how to manipulate it into creating different attacks and I also developed a few techniques of my own.

As for my destroyer energy, my father had suppressed it by putting a little bit of his energy into my necklace and he explained that I wasn't ready to learn something so dangerous yet since I needed a bit more experience with my regular energy before I can get started with learning how to use destroyer energy.

I understood what he meant by that since that power inside me was wild and untamed so I needed a bit more discipline before we could focus on that and we moved to the next step of my training by having me learn a technique that my father's mortal species was known for, shapeshifting and mimicry.

My father explained that he and his kind could transform into other lifeforms for infiltration and combat, but it needed to be used wisely so he warned me to be careful about using it or all that power would go to my head, and I agreed with what he said.

So, I got started with learning how to use that technique and my father gave me a few pointers as I transformed into a few different alien species before ending it with taking on my father's appearance, so I must admit that I was doing well as the years went by.

Still, I would sometimes look up at the stars at night and couldn't help but wonder what other planets or even the other 11 universes were like, so I found myself being curious to the point of dreaming about traveling to other planets or even to the other 11 universes to simply explore and see what they had in store for me.

I decided to tell my parents about it yesterday and my mother was understandably hesitant since she was uneasy about letting me go off on my own to travel for who knows how long.

My father assured her that I would be fine since I was strong enough to hold my own against anyone who might try something against me, though my mother needed some time to consider it and now I was doing some training just to be prepared.

After slicing the training dummy in half, I attacked the other dummies with fast and vicious slashes while alternating between that and expert punches and kicks until I sent a few energy blasts at the remaining few, then I lowered my sword and let out a calming breath while holstering the katana.

"I see you're finished for today," Liquiir spoke up, prompting me to look back to see him, my mother, and Korn standing at the edge of the clearing.

"Yeah, thought I could get in some last-minute training before I head off," I replied while turning around and walking over to them.

"So, we took the liberty to pack you a few things for the journey so here you go," Mom said as she held up a backpack that looked full and I took it before putting it on.

"Thanks, I appreciate that," I said when Mom went to pull me into a hug, and she let out a shaky sigh.

"Stay safe, okay?" Mom asked as Liquiir also joined in on the hug and I teared up slightly.

"Don't worry, I will so I'll be sure to visit from time to time," I replied, and my parents pulled back.

"Well, let us know how things went whenever you visit us," Liquiir told me, and I nodded.

"I'll be sure to do that, so I'll be seeing you guys," I said until I stepped back and got ready to leave.

I powered up and took off into the air before leaving the planet entirely, making my way into space and flying past many planets, and it was good that I could survive in the vacuum of space as I kept flying and wondered where I should go first.

I decided to pick the 7th universe to see what it was like and how different it is compared to my home universe, so I started heading to my next destination and merely enjoyed the sights from time to time, also passing Earth during my travels and I wondered how things went after the invaders left.

I didn't think too much of it as I kept traveling and it didn't take long for me to cross into the 7th universe so I wondered how Beerus was doing, probably being lazy right now but I couldn't help but think about how the other gods and my father don't appear to be too fond of the feline god and I once asked him about it.

Needless to say, he and the other gods hold a grudge against him because of an incident he was responsible for a long time ago, where Zeno had come up with a tournament of hide and seek before Beerus fell asleep in the middle of it.

That infuriated Zeno and my father and the other gods had to do damage control before the Omni-King destroyed all the 12 universes in anger for Beerus' mistake, which earned the ire of my father and the other gods.

I honestly don't blame them for feeling contempt for Beerus since I probably would've felt the same way, though I didn't exist at the time so it's not my place to judge as I kept flying for an extended period until I soon came across a planet that looked similar to Earth in the 8th universe.

It almost appeared to be a replica of it, but the continents were slightly different, and I was curious if this planet was the 7th universe's version of Earth, so I decided to check it out for curiosity's sake, then I started flying to the planet and noticed the moon and other planets were the same as I began to head down into the planet.

I descended into the atmosphere and the intense heat didn't bother me as I kept flying when I soon came down from the sky and took a look around to see where I was once I stopped descending, seeing that I was in an area that was a combination of rocky and grassy at the same time.

'Huh, this place looks nice,' I thought while gazing around when I caught a glimpse of what appeared to be a couple of flying dinosaurs passing by the location I was in and that took me by surprise.

It seemed like this planet might still be in the prehistoric stages if there were dinosaurs around so I closed my eyes and started sensing the environment around me.

I felt the energy signatures of an abundance of life all around the planet, but I was surprised to sense humans, animals such as dogs or cats, and more so maybe I was wrong about the planet being in its prehistoric stages, so I'll have to investigate this world a little more.

Suddenly, I sensed something coming and its energy was stronger than the residents of this planet as I opened my eyes and quickly looked to my right to see something approaching fast.

It definitely was a person who has control of their energy, so they had training as the person got closer to my position and I was more curious than anything else.

When the person came to a stop a few feet away from me, I could see that he looked like a man with green skin that had pink markings, pointy ears, four fingers with claws, and he was wearing a dark purple Gi with a red obi, brown pointy shoes, white cape, and a white turban as the green man stared at me with a scowl with his eyes gazing at me suspiciously.

"Who the hell are you?" the man questioned, more like interrogated really and the demanding tone in his voice made me frown from how rude he sounded.

"That's rude, you fly over here and then demand who I am without even showing the common courtesy of saying hello and introducing yourself? That's not exactly good manners, to be honest," I commented, and the man looked irritated.

"Enough, tell me who you are before I get angry and kill you myself," the man snapped, and I rolled my eyes at his threat.

"Are you seriously threatening me? Dude, really bad idea to threaten someone you don't know, especially one who can fly just like you can and has a sword strapped to his back.

I don't know who pissed in your coffee, but you should probably consider that maybe I'm just someone who is simply traveling and isn't looking for confrontation at the moment," I pointed out and the man growled.

"Fine, if you won't talk, then I'll get the answers out of you by force!" the man shouted and flew at me with a war cry.

I sighed in exasperation since it appeared this guy wouldn't be reasoned with, so I just crossed my arms and let him charge at me until he started throwing punches and kicks.

I casually dodged and weaved out of the way and looked more bored than anything else as the man kept attacking me until he threw a punch at my face, and I held up a finger to block it.

"So, are you done now?" I asked dryly as the man's eyes widened in shock and he flew back quickly, now looking more cautious as he went to remove his cape and turban before throwing them aside, his head having two antennas.

I arched a brow when I sensed his power rising a little bit, but it was tiny compared to mine and at least he was taking me more seriously.

I had to give him props for that as the man growled while his aura started appearing as he began to raise his energy even higher until he started shooting energy blasts at me.

I let them hit me as explosions engulfed me until I was covered in smoke, and I heard a crackling sound as he seemed to charge up his energy for a major attack.

"Special beam cannon!" the man roared as he unleashed the attack at me, which was a beam of energy that had a spiral around it until I was hit by the attack.

The impact created an explosion, and I was still unphased by the barrage of energy attacks that were thrown my way and I merely waited as the man chuckled victoriously, then the smoke cleared up and he started looking stunned by how there wasn't a scratch on me while I simply brushed off any dirt that was on me.

"You know, if I was a regular person, that probably would've killed me, so I have to give you props for at least going all out on me once you realized I wasn't any ordinary opponent," I commented as the man started trembling and looked a little scared by how I wasn't fazed by his attempts to kill me.

I disappeared and reappeared behind him before sending him shooting down to the ground with a chop to the head, and he impacted the ground hard as a dust cloud kicked up from it, then I calmly descended to the crater and landed next to the man that was groaning in pain until I kneeled in front of him.

"A word of advice, think twice before you threaten and attack some random stranger because you never know what they are capable of," I stated before standing up and I flew away.

He'll have a bruised ego, but I held back on purpose since I didn't want to kill the man in case he was an important person on this planet so I'll see if there are any interesting sights I can check out while I'm here, maybe do a little hunting later as I started exploring the planet.

For the rest of the day, I explored and saw cities and towns that were a little more advanced than the ones I was used to on my version of Earth as they were populated with humans and domesticated animals as I thought, though there were residents that were also anthropomorphic in nature while there was a mixture of regular and hover cars.

The technology was definitely more advanced than what was on my version of Earth and the wildlife was a mixture of prehistoric and modern.

Things were definitely different on this Earth than the one I was used to, so I decided to go hunting just in case as the sun was starting to lower and I caught a few things but made sure not to wipe out the population if I could help it.

As it got dark, I found myself passing through that rocky/grassy area again and made sure to keep a lookout for that green man during my travels when I sensed something that was coming from the top of one of the giant rocky pillars and it seemed to be a person, albeit a small one.

I decided to investigate as I noticed it was a full moon tonight, but I didn't pay that much attention to it as I flew up to the top of the pillar, then I paused when I saw that someone was curled up on it and I frowned since the person looked to be a kid who was maybe 4 or 5 years old.

He had slightly spiky black hair tied up in the back and was simply wearing a white tank top, green pants, and black boots but I was curious by what appeared to be a long brown tail coming out of his spine that looked like something a monkey would have.

Still, I was concerned since I had no idea how he got up there and that he didn't have a fire to keep himself warm so I wondered if the green man had kidnapped the kid and just dumped him up there as I flew over to the top of the pillar and landed onto it, walking over to the kid and kneeling next to him so that I could gently shake his shoulder.

"Hey, are you okay?" I asked gently while the kid stirred and opened his eyes, so I moved back a little to give him space as he yawned when he saw me and let out a startled yelp as he scrambled back a few feet, and I held my hands up to show him I was friendly.

"It's okay, I won't hurt you," I reassured him and sat down while keeping my hands in his line of sight, waiting patiently as a short time went by until the kid relaxed once he saw that I wasn't going to hurt him.

"W-Who are you...mister?" the kid inquired timidly.

"My name is Gregory, but my friends call me Greg, so how about you?" I asked and the kid looked shy as he hesitated.

"Um...Gohan," Gohan replied quietly and I smiled warmly.

"That's a nice name, so are you hungry? I have food if you want some," I offered and Gohan's stomach rumbled, making him blush as I chuckled.

"Guess that answers my question so let's see what we got," I added as I went to remove my backpack and rooted through it before taking out a few apples and some large slabs of cooked meat as Gohan widened his eyes.

I handed him a couple of apples and cooked meat before we started eating and I blinked at the sight of him devouring the food like no tomorrow, so the poor kid must've been really hungry, though I ate my portion as a few minutes went by until we were finished, and Gohan looked much happier and satisfied than before.

"Thanks, mister, that was really good," Gohan said and I smiled at him.

"It's no trouble at all, though I'm rather curious as to what you're doing out here in the middle of nowhere by yourself so where are your parents?" I asked and I slightly frowned when Gohan sniffled a little, appearing slightly upset.

"My mommy doesn't know where I am and my daddy...he's gone," Gohan replied quietly and I sent him a look of sympathy.

"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that...I can't imagine what you're feeling right now," I said, and Gohan teared up slightly.

"My daddy, he saved me from a very mean person before he had to go away," Gohan told me and that caught my interest.

"He sounds like a decent guy, so what was he like?" I asked and we continued to chat after that.

Gohan talked to me about his father, who was named Goku and is a hero who saved the world a couple of times and described the adventures his father had been on that Goku had told him, one of those stories apparently about the green man I had encountered earlier who was called Piccolo and that he was an evil person who attempted to take over the world but Goku stopped him.

I also told Gohan stories about my father, and he was in awe as he listened but during the entire time I spent with the kid, I sensed that we were being watched and the energy signature matched Piccolo's.

I didn't know why he hadn't attacked yet, but I was going to stay alert since Piccolo didn't sound like a good person and it was because of that that I wasn't going to let my guard down.

Meanwhile, Gohan told me how he got here, that a bad man by the name of Raditz had kidnapped him and that Goku and Piccolo fought him until Goku sacrificed his life to save his son and Piccolo brought the kid here to train him to prepare for two more people just as bad as Raditz who was even stronger than him, so I winced.

"So, Piccolo is going to train you on how to use this hidden power you have in you? Kid, I don't envy you since Piccolo isn't exactly a good person from what you described so I doubt he's going to be a kind teacher," I said, and Gohan clenched his fists.

"It's not fair...I just want to go home, and I want my daddy back," Gohan whimpered and I sighed.

"Gohan, I know this situation you're in is anything but fair so I don't blame you for being upset since I would feel the same way, but something about this is bothering me because from what you described to me, Piccolo sounds like a pretty unredeemable person.

Still, what's been on my mind is why would he go out of his way to take you in and teach you how to fight to prepare for the Saiyans.

He could've done the exact opposite from what you told me so it could be for selfish reasons, but I think there might be more to this that we aren't seeing right now," I pointed out and Gohan looked curious.

"What do you mean?" Gohan asked and I shrugged.

"Not sure, maybe I'm looking into this too deeply so it might be nothing," I replied as I stood up and did a few stretches before I offered, "Want me to help you get down from here?"

"I-I don't know..." Gohan trailed off nervously and I sent him a reassuring smile.

"Don't worry, just hold on to me and I'll get you down safely," I assured him, and Gohan hesitated before he got up and was about to take my hand when he noticed his shadow that was caused by the moon.

"Greg, why do I still have a shadow when it's nighttime?" Gohan asked and I went to look at that moon.

"That's because it's a full moon tonight so see for yourself," I replied, and Gohan went to look up at the moon that was shining brightly.

"Wow...that's the biggest moon ever and it's so bright...I've never seen one of those before..." Gohan trailed off and I looked at him, then I started feeling confused when I saw that his gaze was now blank, and it was beginning to concern me.

"Gohan?" I questioned when Gohan flinched slightly, and his body started pulsing and throbbing while his coal-black eyes suddenly turned red.

I was starting to become unsettled at the sight since something was seriously wrong and I had the urge to back away slowly from the kid, which I did as my mind screamed for me to get away as fast as I could when Gohan started growling and his muscles began to grow and expand greatly as his tank top, pants, and boots were being ripped apart by the sudden expansion of muscle mass.

'W-What the hell?!' I thought just as Gohan let out a roar and I saw his teeth had grown sharp as his expression now had a look of bloodthirsty rage in it.

I quickly flew away and witnessed Gohan changing and growing bigger as fur sprouted all over him, his feet shifted into hand-like feet, his ears grew into points, his eyes completely became blood red, and his face stretched out into a muzzle as he reached the size of a tall building while he raised his arms and roared ferally.

"Jesus Christ!" I shouted in pure disbelief at what I was witnessing when I noticed Piccolo hovering nearby, looking just as shocked as I was.

The edge of the pillar Gohan was standing on started to give way under his weight and he fell down to the ground until he landed with a deafening thud as I gawked at what the kid had become.

Gohan swung his fist and smashed the pillar next to him when it fell to the ground and broke apart as Gohan suddenly fired energy blasts from his maw with stone pillars getting destroyed with a massive explosion happening that made me and Piccolo shield our faces while Gohan kept blasting everything in sight and he pounded his chest while roaring.

"If he keeps this up, the Earth will be destroyed before the Saiyans even get here!" Piccolo exclaimed in alarm when Gohan spotted us and sent a massive energy blast at us, making me and Piccolo fly out of the way.

"Dammit, we need to pacify this kid in a way that won't kill him or he's going to kill a lot of people!" I yelled as we kept dodging Gohan's attacks when Piccolo seemed to realize something and quickly looked at the moon.

He suddenly charged up his energy and concentrated it in one hand before firing an energy beam at the moon, which blew up in a bright flash that made me look away until I saw Gohan freeze and he started shrinking, the kid changing back to normal until he collapsed and passed out.

'Fuck me, thank god that's over with,' I thought in complete relief as we flew down and I stared at Gohan's sleeping form.

I felt a chill go down my spine at the amount of destruction Gohan did while he was in that form, so if this kid can cause that kind of devastation while in that state, then god help everyone on this planet if the two Saiyans that were mentioned were able to use that transformation.

'Looks like I'll be staying on this planet a little while longer,' I thought and considered that because of my ability to shapeshift, that great ape transformation gave me a few ideas to take on a form that might come in handy against the Saiyans if they found a way to transform into giant monkeys without the use of the moon, so I looked at Piccolo.

"Hey, I know we got off to a bad start, but it wouldn't hurt for us to team up to defeat the Saiyans because if Gohan did this kind of damage, then I don't want to think about what would happen if those Saiyans transformed as well.

I'm going to train as well to prepare for the Saiyans' arrival, so how long will it take for them to arrive?" I inquired and Piccolo looked at me grimly.

"One year," Piccolo replied and I nodded.

"Okay, then that'll give me plenty of time to get ready so let Gohan know that I'll also be preparing for the Saiyans' arrival and that I'll be seeing you guys in one year," I stated before I took off into the air and flew away, knowing that I had a new form to practice on transforming into and learn how to use it properly as my eyes were hard at the thought of two dangerous individuals arriving here and wiping out all life on the planet, that very thought motivating me to get ready as I continued flying.

(One year later)

I was currently meditating as I levitated a few inches off the ground and didn't pay attention to anything around me while I was in the middle of a white void, my mind empty of all thoughts as I was busy during my last day of training.

After leaving Gohan in Piccolo's care, I proceeded to do a bit of training of my own for nearly a year as I managed to transform into a giant form that could come in handy and worked on how to use that form properly while also sharpening my current existing skills.

It was not until one day, one month before the Saiyans arrived, that I came across a massive platform that had a palace on top of it where a short man with black skin appeared to be waiting for me and then I was introduced to someone who looked similar to Piccolo, but older as I learned that his name was Kami and that he was called the guardian of the earth.

I chatted with Kami, and he knew who I was since word about me as the first demigod in all 12 universes had spread among divine beings throughout the cosmos, and he asked what my business was here, so I decided to tell him why I had showed up at his lookout.

I explained that I knew about the situation concerning the two Saiyans and wanted to help but I pointed out that I wanted to do some personal training of my own and needed a place to push me beyond my limits.

Kami had me follow him and he explained that there was a room called the Hyperbolic Time Chamber, where there was a major time difference inside so a year inside the time chamber is a day outside while the environment changes depending on how difficult the training becomes in there.

It was perfect since I would be able to greatly increase my skills and energy to where the Saiyans would have no chance against me, not that they would've been able to stand a chance against me in the first place, but it didn't hurt to train some more since this could also help me prepare for the summit of the gods that will happen one day.

The downside is that I can only use it for two days or I would get trapped in the time chamber for all eternity, but it didn't bother me too much since two years of training in the time chamber should be enough to deal with the Saiyans.

So, I told Kami that I would be spending two days inside the hyperbolic time chamber, and he agreed to it before telling me that I would be let out of the time chamber once my two days in there were up, so he had the dark-skinned man, Mr. Popo, lead me to the door that went into the time chamber, and I was let inside.

After entering the time chamber, I noticed that the air was strange as it was slightly thin and warm at the same time but imagine my shock when I stepped out of the building to see nothing more than a void of white nothingness.

It took me a couple of minutes to grasp what I was seeing until I decided to check out the building to see what my living quarters were.

I found two beds, a bathroom with a tub, a sink, a toilet, and a kitchen that was stocked with enough food and drinks to keep me sustained for two years so I had everything I needed in there while I trained to get stronger.

Once I was done exploring the building, I began my training and spent my entire time in the time chamber sharpening my skills or focusing more on my energy techniques and transformation ability as I soon discovered that the time chamber's environment changed at certain times, or the air would get thinner the farther I went out into the void.

It was no picnic here as I had to adapt to the changing environment, so it was rough during what constitutes my first couple of weeks here, but I got used to it and spent the rest of my time here getting stronger in terms of power and skill.

Before I knew it, what constitutes two years had gone by in this place and I was forced to celebrate both birthdays by myself, so I started feeling lonely and guilty that my parents missed out on two birthdays, even if only two days went by outside.

I didn't let it get to me too much as I took up meditation on my last day, now I was done and made my way back into the building since my time in here was over until the door leading to the outside world swung open and I saw Mr. Popo quickly peering.

"Gregory, come quickly," Mr. Popo said urgently as I could tell something had him rattled and I quickly left the time chamber.

"What happened?" I inquired while we were walking quickly to the outside of Kami's palace, though Mr. Popo didn't respond as I saw Kami standing outside and looking shaken up.

"Kami, he's here as you requested," Mr. Popo said and Kami sent him a nod.

"Thank you, Mr. Popo," Kami replied and I started looking concerned.

"Kami, what happened?" I inquired and Kami started looking grim.

"Something terrible, the Saiyans have arrived and are currently unleashing terror on Earth," Kami informed me and my eyes widened in shock.

"What?! They weren't supposed to arrive for another month at least!" I exclaimed in alarm.

"Indeed, but they arrived earlier than expected and already destroyed a city as Piccolo, Gohan, and a few of my students came to Earth's defense but it was simply not enough and a few of my students have already perished while fighting against the Saiyans.

I fear Piccolo and whoever is left won't survive either," Kami said and I looked horrified to hear that.

"Shit, please tell me that's the only bad news you're giving me," I said, and Kami sighed.

"Goku was brought back to life, and I took him back to Earth, but I am afraid he won't make it in time, which is why you must hurry and help Piccolo and the remaining defenders of Earth or more lives will be lost," Kami empathized and I nodded with a grim look.

"Then I better not waste any time," I replied before I started running towards the edge and took off into the air.

I started sensing for Piccolo's and Gohan's energy signatures and managed to locate them as there were three more, two of them being bigger than Piccolo's, Gohan's, and the third energy signature so those must be the Saiyans and I knew I had to hurry before more people die.

I powered up and shot towards where they were like a rocket as I passed by landmasses, towns, and cities while still sensing the energy signatures when I was greatly alarmed by Piccolo's energy signature suddenly dropping like a stone.

That could only mean one thing, something happened and now he was dying so I flew even faster when Piccolo's energy signature disappeared once I was getting close to the remaining defenders of Earth and the Saiyans.

'Oh god, his energy's gone,' I thought with a look of horror on my face since that meant Piccolo was dead and that left only Gohan and the third energy signature, so I hurried as I entered a grassy/rocky zone when I sensed Gohan's energy skyrocket, and it dropped a few minutes later so I didn't know what was going on, but it wasn't good.

I kept flying as I arrived at what seemed to be a clearing and then I could see what was going on, spotting what appeared to be a few bodies lying on the ground motionless with one of them being Piccolo while I saw Gohan on his hands and knees, then I had eyes on what appeared to be the Saiyans.

One of the Saiyans was a large bald burly man who had a mustache and was only wearing black shorts, wrist guards, and boots while he had scrapes and dirt on him as the second one was shorter and had his hair spiked up like a flame and having a widow's peak as he wore armor and had a device on his left ear.

I could see the large man had his foot raised and ready to crush Gohan into nothing more than red paste so I swooped down and moved so fast that nobody could see me as I snatched Gohan by the waist and got him to safety as the large Saiyan stomped the ground where Gohan used to be.

The large Saiyan looked confused by how Gohan was suddenly gone when he looked around and saw me in the air as I held Gohan in my arms and gently descended until my feet touched the ground and I put Gohan down.

"Are you okay, Gohan?" I asked while appearing concerned by how Gohan looked worse for wear and I noticed that the third energy signature belonged to a short bald man in an orange Gi, who was lying on the ground nearby as he also looked like hell and had an expression of complete surprise.

"Greg, you're here!" Gohan exclaimed as he looked overjoyed that I made it, and I smiled down at him.

"Sorry for being late, but hey, better late than never as I always say," I remarked, and Gohan laughed slightly until I went to look at the Saiyans who appeared taken off guard by me suddenly showing up, so I frowned.

"Okay Gohan, go see if you can check up on your friend while I handle the big guy, okay?" I suggested and Gohan didn't argue as he ran over to his injured friend, and I got ready to teach these Saiyans a lesson they would never forget.

Chapter Text

"Who the hell is this? More trash for me to clean up? Hey, Vegeta, mind if I play with this one for a bit before killing him?" the large Saiyan asked Vegeta, who smirked.

"Of course, he might prove to be entertaining at least before we take care of him and the other two until Kakarot shows up to see our handiwork so have fun, Nappa," Vegeta said and Nappa chuckled before he faced me and started cracking his knuckles while having a malicious grin.

"You hear that? Looks like I get to have a little fun with you so I'm going to make you die screaming in agony," Nappa threatened me and I merely smiled in response.

"If you think you can kill me, then go right ahead," I replied, and Nappa blinked at that before smirking.

"Cocky little shit, aren't you? I like that, too bad you'll have to die now," Nappa told me before charging with a growl and I just stood there as he went to swing at me with a yell until I held up a finger and blocked his attack, taking him by surprise.

"So, is this the part where you kill me, or is that coming later?" I questioned rhetorically, and Nappa pulled his fist back while looking bewildered.

"Huh, guess Kakarot's kid winded me more than I thought so how about this?" Nappa told me before he started powering up as the ground began trembling and debris rose up while the large Saiyan grinned at me sadistically.

I wasn't fazed by him powering up since I was much stronger than him, but I noticed that Gohan and the other defender of Earth looking worried for me, though they had nothing to be concerned about as Nappa was finished powering up and he started throwing punches at me.

I simply blocked them with my finger as Nappa kept trying to hit me, but he wasn't having much luck and his expression started changing from confidence to shock and disbelief while I was still smiling when I suddenly moved to the side and tripped him, making Nappa stumble before he regained his balance and looked at me with wide eyes.

"W-What the?!" Nappa exclaimed and I arched a brow.

"What's wrong? I thought you were going to kill me or was I wrong about that?" I wondered mockingly and Nappa scowled.

"I'm not done yet, you bastard!" Nappa shouted before he started firing energy blasts at me, each one I dodged until I appeared in front of him, and he flinched at how fast I was as I held up a hand.

"You know, I'm getting bored so maybe you and your friend aren't all that scary after all," I taunted, and Nappa started looking pissed.

"You little shit!" Nappa shouted before jumping back and shooting up two fingers, then I was engulfed by a massive energy attack that came up out of the ground and I was obscured by smoke as Nappa chuckled and muttered something to himself until the smoke cleared up and his eyes bugged out at seeing me not even having a scratch on me.

"You know, if you wanted to get dirt on my clothes, then you succeeded in achieving that," I remarked while casually brushing off said dirt that was on me.

"No...that's impossible..." Nappa trailed off and I merely gestured for him to come and get me.

"Come on, show me what else you can do or are you too scared?" I mocked and Nappa looked livid.

"I am a Saiyan general, and I will not be humiliated like this, so just die already!" Nappa roared before he charged up his energy and fired a ki blast from his mouth as the massive attack went shooting right at me, then I held up my finger again and stopped the attack.

"I'm sorry, is this yours?" I wondered mockingly with a smirk before flicking my finger and sending the attack right back at Nappa, who quickly blocked and was hit by his own attack as an explosion erupted.

There was nothing but smoke for a little bit until it cleared up and Nappa was standing there, looking enraged, and was about to attack me out of pure frustration when I suddenly sensed a strong power appear above us and I looked up to see who it belonged to.

I saw a man with spiky black hair and an orange Gi that had a blue shirt, blue wristbands, blue obi, and blue boots as his coal-black eyes were hard but the resemblance to Gohan told me that this was the kid's father Goku, who descended, and his feet touched the ground as Gohan started smiling joyfully.

"It's my dad!" Gohan exclaimed happily, confirming that this was Goku, so I was curious about him and wanted to see if he was as strong as Gohan told me he was.

'So, that's Goku...I can see the resemblance,' I thought as Goku noticed me and looked curious for a moment, but then he returned his attention to Nappa and Vegeta with his eyes becoming hard and stern once again.

"Nice of you to drop by...still, I'm a little embarrassed for you, I have to admit. I mean, I sincerely hope you didn't come all this way, back from the dead even, believing you stood any chance against us...that would be a shame," Vegeta said smugly, appearing to regain his stunned composure from seeing me toy with Nappa but Goku walked over to the body of Piccolo and went to check his pulse.

"What happened to him?" Goku asked and Gohan went over to his father while looking solemn.

"He died...trying to protect me from them," Gohan replied and I softened my eyes at that, knowing now that Piccolo wasn't the evil man he used to be if he sacrificed himself to save the son of his enemy, then Goku stood up while gazing at the other bodies and started looking angry from seeing such loss of life.

"Tien...Yamcha," Goku muttered and Nappa started laughing.

"Does seeing them dead hurt? There was another one around here somewhere, but I guess there wouldn't be much left of him now.

A strong little shit, though you might say he went out with a bit of a bang," Nappa remarked and I glared at him for his cruel disregard for people's lives and Goku looked pissed as he trembled in rage.

'Fucking asshole, you are going to regret saying that,' I thought angrily while Nappa's smirk pissed me off.

"Hey, look on the bright side, no need to grieve since you are all about to be reunited, and here you've gone through all the trouble of coming back to life," Nappa mocked and that was it for me as I looked at Goku.

"Your name is Goku, right? Feel free to pound this twisted piece of garbage into the dirt since I already softened him up for you," I stated darkly and Goku sent me a nod before walking up to Nappa and glaring at the large man.

"Oh, somebody's eager so you really miss them that much? Well, you'll get no argument from me," Nappa declared before throwing a punch at Goku, who quickly dodged and appeared next to Gohan.

"This way, son," Goku said as he gestured for Gohan to follow him and they started walking over to the injured fighter, prompting me to follow.

Nappa looked bewildered that Goku dodged his attack and Vegeta had a thoughtful frown while I followed Goku and Gohan until we stopped next to the injured fighter.

"Krillin..." Goku trailed off while looking concerned and Krillin sent him a weak smile.

"W-Welcome back," Krillin groaned and Goku kneeled next to him.

"Sorry it took me so long, but hey, you two held your own, huh?" Goku commented and Krillin sighed.

"I guess...but if it wasn't for this guy here showing up and buying time, we probably wouldn't have made it," Krillin said as he gazed at me, causing Goku to look at me as I sent him a friendly smile.

"Hey, I'm Greg so you're Goku? Your son told me all about you a few months ago so it's nice to meet you," I said warmly.

"Daddy, you should have seen him...he was amazing while he fought that big guy and it was like he couldn't even hurt him," Gohan said with a look of amazement while Goku looked surprised to hear that, but he smiled at me.

"Hey, I don't know where you came from but thanks for saving my son and Krillin since I don't know what I would do if I had lost them too," Goku told me gratefully and I nodded.

"It's no trouble, though we still need to take care of the Saiyans because Earth is still in danger right now," I pointed out, and Goku looked serious at that as he went to take out a small bean and held it out to Krillin and Gohan.

"Here, eat up. I want each of you to take half," Goku offered.

"A senzu bean? I...I didn't think Korin had any left," Krillin replied with a look of surprise and Goku nodded.

"You're looking at the last one," Goku remarked, and Krillin let out a weak chuckle.

"You eat it then since it would just be wasted on me," Krillin pointed out but Goku shook his head.

"Don't talk like that, I had one on the way here anyhow," Goku stated.

"Trust me, you'll want to hold onto it...you know, just in case...besides, even at the top of my game, I'm pretty much useless against these guys," Krillin replied and Goku smiled.

"Yeah, well, I've got the bean so it's my decision and if you don't eat half of it, then I'm going to throw it away so come on," Goku insisted while breaking the bean in half and holding out one of the halves for Krillin, who reluctantly ate it.

"Thanks, Goku," Krillin mumbled and Goku held out the other half to Gohan.

"Okay now, you too," Goku said, and Gohan nodded before he took the other half of the bean and ate it, then I was completely surprised to see his and Krillin's injuries healing up rapidly to where there weren't any scars and their energy rose back up to normal.

'Interesting, that bean seems to have some kind of healing properties,' I thought as Krillin stood up with a grin.

"Krillin, you've gotten a lot more powerful this last year, huh?" Goku asked and Krillin stopped smiling before looking troubled.

"Yeah, I thought so too before we actually started to fight, then it felt like the best I had in me was some kind of joke...they died...all of them.

It's a miracle any of us even survived, and if Greg hadn't shown up when he did to buy time, then we might not have made it either," Krillin admitted with a frown and I could see just how bothered he was by the knowledge that his training didn't make much of a difference in the end, but then Goku turned his attention to Gohan.

"Gohan, I barely recognized you at first, so you've been training really hard, haven't you?" Goku inquired curiously and Gohan nodded.

"That's right, I've been training all year with Piccolo, and he was teaching me to be strong like you are...but now...he's gone, and that means we can't use the dragon balls to bring him or anyone else back to life..." Gohan trailed off sadly and Goku hardened his eyes while I felt sympathy for these people, just as Krillin growled in frustration.

"I say it's payback time, right? There are four of us and two of them, and hey, you've been training with the great King Kai while Greg appeared to be stronger than the Saiyans so, with all that going for us, well...we should be able to take down at least one or maybe two of them, don't you think?" Krillin pointed out eagerly and I didn't argue there.

"He has a point, we'll be able to take down the Saiyans if we work together on this," I added but I noticed that Goku didn't look as enthusiastic.

"Only thing, though...you three aren't part of the equation so this fight is mine...don't try to interfere since I want the three of you sitting on the sidelines," Goku said with Gohan and Krillin balking at that.

"But that...that's nuts! Look, you may have gotten super strong, but these freaks are unreal so you can't even imagine what they're capable of, which is why you can't take them by yourself!" Krillin exclaimed in disbelief.

"Dad, you got to listen because he's right!" Gohan added while I sighed.

"Goku, I know you feel confident with your newly gained strength but the last thing you should do is fight alone so I should at least team up with you since I'm stronger than the Saiyans.

With the two of us working together, they don't stand a chance," I reasoned and Goku glared at the Saiyans while tensing up with his power rising slightly until he sighed.

"Okay, though I'll deal with the big guy first, and then we team up against the shorter one, sound good?" Goku offered and I sensed that he was stronger than Nappa so he should be able to handle him.

"Alright, sounds like a plan," I agreed, and Krillin gawked at me.

"Greg, you're not seriously agreeing to this, are you?!" Krillin yelled in shock until I looked at him.

"Don't worry, Goku can handle the big guy so just trust that he can do it since he knows what he's doing," I reassured him as Goku started walking over to Nappa and came to a stop a few feet away from the big guy, who started grinning.

"Oh no, you do not want to make that face at me, unless that's the look you want to greet your friends with on the other side!" Nappa taunted Goku, and I shook my head since that dumbass just signed his death warrant.

"This ends now, and you're going to pay!" Goku snarled before he started powering up and rocks started rising into the air as Goku roared.

I saw parts of the ground start breaking and joining the rising stones as Vegeta and Nappa started looking shocked by what was happening as Gohan and Krillin ran for cover.

'Smart move, those two do not want to be here once it gets ugly,' I thought as I remained unfazed by what was happening, just merely watching with my arms crossed while the device on Vegeta's head started going crazy when Goku let out a loud shout and then it all went calm as Nappa started looking unnerved and turned his head back to face Vegeta.

"Vegeta, what does the scouter say about his power level?!" Nappa cried out and Vegeta trembled as he gritted his teeth.

"It's over 8000!" Vegeta shouted and Nappa looked at him as if he had two heads.

"8000?! Come on, that can't be right so it must be broken or something! Wait, what about that one?" Nappa asked uneasily while pointing at me and Vegeta used his scouter to check my power level as the scan kept climbing and climbing while he widened his eyes before trembling when it soon stopped at a number.

"I-Impossible..." Vegeta trailed off while staring at me with a hint of fear in his eyes.

"Vegeta, talk to me! Just how strong is that one?!" Nappa demanded and Vegeta removed his scouter while looking angry and shaken up.

"I-It's 180,000!" Vegeta shouted before crushing the scouter with his hand and Nappa looked horrified by that.

"No, that can't be right! He just can't be that powerful, he just can't!" Nappa screamed in denial and Vegeta glared at me.

"Nappa, that one will prove to be a problem so take care of Kakarot but leave the one with the sword to me!" Vegeta ordered as Goku was looking bewildered that I was more powerful than him but then he shook it off and glared at them again.

"You're going down, and I doubt I'll even have to use the Kaio-ken against you," Goku stated, and I was confused by that.

'Kaio-ken? Must be a technique he learned while he was dead,' I thought just as Nappa started charging at Goku.

"You don't scare me, asshole! Nobody but nobody intimidates the mighty Nappa!" Nappa yelled as he ran at Goku like an angry bull and went to grab him, but Goku moved behind him and slammed his foot into the back of Nappa's head, sending the big guy to the ground with all of this happening in a few seconds.

'Huh, Goku's fast so the big guy didn't see that coming,' I thought as Vegeta, Gohan, and Krillin looked shocked by what happened until Nappa groaned and clutched the back of his head while looking back at Goku with a pained expression.

"How'd you get back there?" Nappa wondered as he went to get back up and looked peeved while Goku was silent when he looked at the large Saiyan with a glare.

"You know, as much as you puffed yourself up, I'm kind of disappointed," Goku remarked, and Nappa sputtered while looking outraged.

"What the fuck did you say?! Are you...are you trying to tell me I'm all bark and no bite?!" Nappa exclaimed angrily.

"If that flailing around was your idea of an attack, then yeah," Goku said, and Nappa looked baffled at first but then he started chuckling.

"Oh really...then maybe you should teach me a thing or two!" Nappa declared.

He powered up and attacked Goku again, who kept dodging the punches and kicks while I could see Nappa getting more and more angry and frustrated until Goku jumped behind the large Saiyan brute, ducked under a swipe, and continued to dodge more punches and kicks being thrown at him until Nappa roared as he threw a heavy punch at Goku, who dodged and appeared a few feet to his left as the big guy looked around.

"Over here!" Goku called out and Nappa quickly looked at him until he started looking enraged.

Goku looked to be getting ready and he suddenly ran at Nappa at a shocking amount of speed, the big guy looking like he was taken off guard.

Goku suddenly disappeared and appeared on top of his head, prompting the large brute to quickly try to grab him but Goku dodged and appeared in front of Nappa, slamming his fist into the big guy's abdomen.

Nappa gasped loudly in pain as Goku backed up and Nappa went to clutch his abdomen while hunched over, twitching and struggling to breathe as he groaned.

I was impressed that Goku was keeping up with the big guy so looks like all that training he did while in the otherworld was paying off.

"Just so you know, that was for Chiaotzu," Goku stated while Nappa fell to his knees and glared up at Goku.

"Damn you!" Nappa snarled before attempting to attack Goku but to no avail and was sent flying into the air from a punch to his back.

"And this is for Yamcha!" Goku shouted as Nappa bounced across the ground, smashed through and boulder, and was about to collide with a rocky pillar but he recovered.

He used the pillar to launch himself up into the air and he hovered above Goku while glaring down at him with barely restrained fury while growling something under his breath and he powered up before throwing an energy blast at Goku, who smirked.

"Seriously?" Goku questioned as he let the attack come at him until he raised his arms and let out a yell when the energy attack hit him and there was an explosion as a result, then the smoke soon cleared up to reveal Goku looking unharmed, and Nappa bulged his eyes out at that.

"What the...that was luck!" Nappa yelled as he was about to attack him again, but Goku didn't even give him a chance as he quickly flew up and appeared above Nappa.

"This one's for Tien!" Goku shouted before sending Nappa shooting down with a double ax handle to the head, then he followed up by flying down and using the ground to launch himself at Nappa.

"And this one...is for Piccolo!" Goku growled before kicking him into a large boulder, the large Saiyan's bulky frame smashing through it as Goku twirled back in mid-air until he landed on the ground.

'Impressive, I don't know what kind of training he did while he was dead, but it certainly made one hell of a difference,' I thought with a look of intrigue as Goku glared at the boulder until Nappa burst out of it with a look of rage.

"Bastard, you and that other asshole are going to die!" Nappa roared as he crushed a rock he was holding and threw a piece of it at Goku, who leaned out of the way, and I assumed he was also talking about me.

"That's some strength, but I'd be more impressed if you knew what to do with it, though," Goku said and that pissed off Nappa even more if that was even possible.

"First that asshole with the sword who mocked me and now you?! I am a member of an elite warrior class so I will not be made a fool of by some fucking bottom-feeder and a damn Earthling.

You and he will be begging for death by the time I'm done with you both!" Nappa snarled and he started stomping at Goku when Vegeta spoke up.

"Nappa, use your head, and don't let his nonchalant attitude get under your skin! That's what's giving him the advantage, so calm down and think!" Vegeta yelled as Nappa looked at him and took his advice by calming down and he chuckled.

"You're right...thanks, Vegeta. I've got to stay level-headed...almost lost my composure so I got to hand it to you, pretty sneaky move there by getting me all worked up just like that asshole with the sword did but that's not going to fly from here on out, though.

From here on out, I'm a machine," Nappa said, looking more confident and Goku smirked.

"Now that's what I like to hear, so show me what you got," Goku said, challenging Nappa and the big guy started grinning.

"You sure like to talk big, don't you?" Nappa remarked and I rolled my eyes at that.

'Fucking moron, it doesn't take a rocket scientist to see that Goku does have the confidence to back up his words so this idiot's going to learn that the hard way,' I thought dryly as Nappa started powering up again.

The ground shook while Nappa was powering up and debris started rising in the air when a menacing aura appeared around Nappa.

He chuckled before shooting up his two fingers and the same move he used on me was used on Goku, the massive explosion obscuring the man, but I knew he wasn't dead since I could still sense his energy and Goku flew out of the large cloud of smoke.

"I can see you!" Nappa shouted before taking off after Goku and attempting to hit him, but Goku dodged or blocked every punch or kick that was thrown at him, and they soon backed away from each other in mid-air.

Goku appeared to say something that amused Nappa before the latter opened his mouth wide and unleashed the same energy wave he used on me.

Goku responded with a powerful energy attack of his own before they collided, and the two men struggled to overpower one another.

it ended up in an explosion that kicked up dirt and debris, but the smoke cleared up to show that Goku had blocked just in time.

"That's enough, Nappa! Back down since I believe the traitor has proven himself to be your match!" Vegeta shouted and Nappa shot him a look of disbelief.

"What?!" Nappa exclaimed.

"Don't give me that look! Thanks to your monumental incompetence, it seems I have no choice but to step in and finish this myself," Vegeta stated irritably.

Nappa looked frustrated, but he didn't protest, which told me that he was more wary of Vegeta than the rest of us and that gave me an idea of how Vegeta is stronger than Nappa.

Nappa flew down when he gazed at Gohan and Krillin with a sadistic smile before he suddenly started flying at them and my eyes widened in alarm, but before I could step in and intervene, Goku acted quickly by chasing after him.

"Kaio-ken!" Goku shouted and he started glowing red before moving so fast that it took me off guard.

"W-What the hell?" I said just as he slammed his fists into Nappa's back, no doubt breaking it as he shot under the large man and landed on the ground until he raised a single hand to catch Nappa while the red aura disappeared, then Goku threw Nappa and the big guy landed on the ground next to Vegeta as I walked over to Goku and the others.

"Wow, nice one," I commented as I could hear Nappa groaning in pain and that made me wince since he was no doubt paralyzed from the waist down after that hit.

"He won't be able to fight anymore so take your injured friend and leave this planet. Just go back to where you came from, right now," Goku told Vegeta, who was looking stunned by what happened when Krillin cleared his throat.

"Um, Goku, how did you do that? Was that one of the new techniques that you learned from King Kai while you were off training?" Krillin inquired while he and Gohan looked baffled.

"I'm also curious about that since your speed and energy skyrocketed for a moment when you used that technique," I added and Goku smiled at us.

"Yeah, it's called the Kaio-ken so by controlling every ounce of energy in your body, you can amplify it for a short burst. When you do it correctly, your power, speed, destructive force, and defensive force can all be increased a lot," Goku explained, and I hummed in thought.

"Interesting, sounds pretty useful so with that technique, you can make yourself even stronger for a short amount of time," I said and Goku nodded.

"That's right," Goku replied while Krillin and Gohan were staring at him in awe.

"Goku, why do you tease us? This isn't a good time to be playing around because if you had that trick up your sleeve the whole time, then you should've used it right away," Krillin said and I looked at him.

"I doubt it's that simple since it probably has its drawbacks as well," I pointed out and Goku chuckled.

"He's not wrong there because if I don't stay in complete control while I'm boosting my energy, then I could really mess myself up.

You see, I can only use two times the power of the Kaio-ken but if I go even further than that, the strain on my body would do more harm than good so I have to be careful, or overdoing it will end badly for me," Goku stated, then Gohan and Krillin looked shocked to hear that.

"T-That's crazy!" Krillin exclaimed in disbelief.

"Actually, it's not that far-fetched since his body isn't used to the strain of using the Kaio-ken, so it needs to be used wisely or it'll backfire badly on him and put us in an even worse position," I pointed out and Goku nodded to agree with me.

I noticed that Nappa was struggling to reach up to Vegeta in a gesture for the shorter man to help him and Vegeta went to take his hand, then he laughed and threw Nappa into the sky while Goku, Krillin, Gohan, and I gasped.

"What the fuck is wrong with you?! Vegeta, Vegeta!" Nappa screamed in alarm as he kept flying into the sky.

"I have no use for a paralyzed Saiyan, so you're dead weight now!" Vegeta declared before he started charging his energy as the wind kicked up.

'Wow, what power!" Goku exclaimed as I was tense by what was happening, and Gohan held onto his pant leg.

"Dad, make it stop!" Gohan cried out.

"The wind, I can't even open my eyes!" Krillin yelled as he was shielding his face with his arms.

"Die!" Vegeta shouted once he was finished charging up his energy and fired an energy wave from his body that shot at Nappa, who was a speck at that point and was engulfed by the attack.

I could sense his energy dropping fast until it disappeared entirely as an explosion erupted, and we all managed to get into the air in time as I scowled, Goku and I each holding Gohan and Krillin.

"H-He's... psycho...he just killed his own partner for no reason!" Krillin shouted in complete horror while Goku and I were glaring down at Vegeta.

"Gohan...Krillin...I want both of you to go back to Master Roshi's house right now, understand?" Goku instructed as he and I let go of Gohan and Krillin, who started floating as well.

"Yeah...we get it...you heard what your dad said, Gohan...come on, let's go," Krillin told Gohan, who looked hesitant.

"Uh...but I..." Gohan trailed off and I put a hand on his shoulder, making him look up at me as I sent him a reassuring look.

"Don't worry, we'll be just fine so go on, we'll take care of this guy and meet up with you and Krillin later," I assured him, and he still looked slightly hesitant, but my smile made him relax and he nodded.

"Okay, please be careful," Gohan told me and Goku until Krillin seemed to recall something.

"Oh, right...Goku...I was wondering if there's a way you and Greg could move this fight to another location," Krillin spoke up and Goku sent him a puzzled look.

"What do you mean?" Goku inquired.

"I don't think our friends will appreciate it if their bodies get blown up before we have a chance to wish them back to life," Krillin replied and Goku looked even more confused.

"Wish them back to life? But Piccolo's dead, which means Kami is too...I hate to say it, Krillin, but the dragon balls are gone forever so there's no way they'll ever be able to have another chance at life," Goku pointed out and I was the one who was confused by that, but I'll ask them about it later once Vegeta is taken care of.

"I'm not sure...we'll see about that," Krillin said more confidently.

"You sound pretty sure that we can bring them back to life so is there something I'm missing here?" I questioned and Krillin merely smirked at me while Gohan's eyes widened in realization.

"Wait...are you...are you talking about..." Gohan trailed off and Goku frowned.

"Krillin, is there something I should know about?" Goku inquired and Krillin held up a hand.

"Don't worry, Goku, I'll explain later but just promise me this, okay? That you and Greg will beat that guy and come back alive," Krillin told him and Goku nodded.

"Come back alive...right...well then, Greg and I don't have much of a choice now, do we? Don't worry, we'll do our best," Goku vowed with a smirk, and I smiled as well.

"Yeah, it would be pretty embarrassing for us to die after training so hard to be prepared for the Saiyans' arrival," I added jokingly.

"Let's get on with it! What happened to all that enthusiasm you both had?! Are you two just going to run away like little babies?!" Vegeta called up at us, the smug asshole grinning arrogantly, and I had the urge to hit him in the face.

"Okay, now I want to wipe that smug look off his face," I stated and Goku nodded in agreement before gazing at Krillin and Gohan.

"Alright, Greg and I will try to lure him as far away from this place as we possibly can, so we'll be seeing the two of you really soon," Goku said and Krillin held out a hand, making him blink at it.

"One last thing, I'm sorry we have to...leave our fate to you and Greg alone...but don't you and Greg even think about dying on me, friend," Krillin said with a serious expression and Goku clasped his hand with the bald warrior's.

"Right," Goku agreed while Gohan looked uncertain and nervous.

"Be careful," Gohan told me and Goku, prompting the latter to ruffle his hair.

"Gohan, what do you say that once Greg and I finish our business here, how about you and I go fishing together?" Goku offered and Gohan started perking up as he beamed at that.

"Well, see you guys later," I said with a smile, but then Goku and I looked down at Vegeta with hard glares before descending a little bit and Vegeta laughed.

"I take it you both realize there's no use in running away," Vegeta remarked and Goku and I smirked in response.

"Let's finish this someplace else," Goku offered, and Vegeta scoffed.

"Fine by me, makes no difference," Vegeta agreed and the three of us flew away from the area, heading to another location to finish this fight.

It took a little bit, but we arrived in a desert/rocky location before Goku and I flew down, landing on the top of a rocky pillar and Vegeta landed on one across from ours as he looked at us with that same irritable smirk that made me want to punch him.

"Interesting...of all the places on your planet, you two chose this as your gravesite. Kakarot, you should feel lucky since not every low-class warrior gets the chance to spar with a super-elite like me.

As for the one with the sword, he should be grateful that I'm even entertaining the idea of having him fight someone as skilled as me," Vegeta said and I rolled my eyes at his arrogant attitude.

'Geez, this guy has such a stick up his ass that it makes me want to pummel him into the dirt,' I thought with a look of annoyance.

"Not long after Saiyans are born, their skills as a soldier are tested and the scum whose scores are ranked the lowest are sent to the outer worlds where the opponents are weak much like you were, Kakarot.

In other words, you were cast out like a fucking dog," Vegeta explained and Goku smiled.

"Yes, and as a result, I was lucky enough to come here to Earth so I'm grateful for that...besides, maybe even a lower-classed outcast can surpass an elite if he puts his mind to it," Goku said, and Vegeta chuckled.

"That's a nice attempt at a joke, now let me show you and the Earthling a wall neither of you will have the ability to scale through effort alone," Vegeta declared as he started going into a combat stance, prompting me and Goku to do the same as we got ready to fight for the future of Earth and humanity itself.

Chapter Text

There was nothing but a tense silence as Goku and I kept our hardened gazes on Vegeta, who had a bloodthirsty grin on his face while the only sound was the wind that was blowing as it was a matter of who would make the first move, then there was the sound of a piece of stone cracking and Goku and I leaped into action.

We attacked Vegeta and he started blocking Goku's attacks while avoiding my attempts to hit him when Goku sent a kick at Vegeta, who dodged and jumped back onto different rocky pillars.

We pursued him, but Vegeta used a pillar to launch himself at us before slamming his fist into Goku's face and sending a spinning kick at me.

I leaned back to avoid getting kicked in the jaw and quickly flew over to Goku who had been knocked back from the punch but Vegeta disappeared and we quickly looked around when I suddenly sensed him right behind us, prompting me to shove Goku out of the way and ducking from an attempted neck chop until the two of us traded blows with Vegeta as we either dodged or blocked the attacks while Vegeta did the same.

"What's wrong?! Surely you two can put up a better fight than this! I saw you both exert more effort when you two fought Nappa, so why not me?!

Let's see it!" Vegeta shouted as he got past Goku's defenses and started hitting him with a few punches and kicks before sending him falling to the ground with a double axe handle and he tried to blast me with an energy blast.

I slapped it out of the way and flew down as Goku was falling until he uprighted himself in mid-air and landed on a pillar, then I rejoined him as I landed on the pillar he was standing on and we both watched Vegeta do the same on a taller pillar across from us as he smirked down at us.

"Impressive...we've just begun to fight and already his speed and technique have far surpassed mine, so this is exciting," Goku said, and I glanced at him out of the corner of my eye.

"Yeah, might need to step it up now that we know what we're dealing with," I replied as we gazed up at Vegeta.

"Now show me, come on! Have you both used up all that strength, already?!" Vegeta yelled down at us, and I sent him a foxy grin.

"Okay then, but just remember that you asked for it!" I replied loudly, then Goku and I nodded to each other, and he started channeling his energy until he activated the Kaio-ken.

As for me, I let out a calming breath and started powering up as my body was surrounded by my flaming golden aura and everything around us started shaking.

"Kaio-ken!" Goku shouted and thrust his hand forward, unleashing a powerful burst of air that took Vegeta off guard, but he took off into the air in time as the burst of air destroyed the pillar he used to stand on.

I was ready for that and moved so fast that I was like a blur when I appeared in front of Vegeta, sending my foot into his face and he was thrown back from the force when Goku appeared and did rapid jabs in his face before knocking him back with a kick as he was sent flying.

I followed up by flying after him and slamming my fist into his back that sent him up into the air and Goku was about to carry out his attack.

Vegeta recovered enough to kick him in the jaw, then Goku was sent back by the force but quickly came to a stop and I met up with him as Vegeta chuckled.

"Well, if that's the limit of what you two have to offer, then I'm sorely disappointed!" Vegeta declared smugly and I smirked.

"Yeah right, you just don't want to admit that we are handling you quite well," I countered playfully, and Vegeta grinned in response.

"Laugh all you want, boy, but you're still no match for the prince of all Saiyans, no matter how many times you power up so come on! Are you and Kakarot done already? I guess you two are all talk then, huh?

In that case, allow me to show you something before you die...the overwhelming power of a Saiyan super-elite! Soon, you two will follow that Namekian and those Earthlings into oblivion!" Vegeta declared and he began to power up.

Dark ominous clouds started to appear, and rocky pillars began to break apart as Goku quickly looked around with a gasp while the earth shook around us, and a sphere of energy flickered around Vegeta while he growled as I prepared to defend myself.

"Get ready, he's going to attack us once he's done powering up," I told Goku, who nodded as Vegeta started roaring and Goku widened his eyes from the power he was no doubt sensing right now.

"Holy crap, his power is incredible! It's like the whole planet's shaking!" Goku exclaimed in shock while bursts of wind started hitting us, making him shield his face and I grimaced.

"Damn, it's like he's conjuring up a fucking hurricane!" I shouted as I was amazed by the amount of power Vegeta was unleashing so even though I was still stronger than him, I would hate to imagine what would've happened if I wasn't as strong as I am now.

After that, Vegeta let out a scream, and Goku and I were nearly blinded by the bright light that erupted from him as I was forced to shield my eyes and turn my head away.

Vegeta stopped yelling and the light died down, so Goku and I lowered our arms before the man next to me looked around with a puzzled look.

"Huh? That's strange, the wind just stopped...wait, all of the clouds have disappeared too," Goku muttered but I kept my focus on Vegeta, who was grinning sadistically.

"It's done...Kakarot," Vegeta stated and I widened my eyes when he started flying at us at a high rate of speed.

"Watch it!" I exclaimed but it was too late as Goku was sent flying with a body tackle and I was shot at with a few energy blasts.

Acting quickly, I pulled out my sword and started slicing through them, and that caused them to explode around me as Vegeta went after Goku to send an elbow into the latter's sternum, Goku falling from the impact until he uprighted himself and landed on a rocky pillar.

"Hey dumbass, behind you!" Vegeta shouted before he appeared behind Goku and launched the man into the air with a kick to the back.

'Fuck, I got to help him,' I thought as I flew out of the clouds of smoke and attempted to assist Goku.

Goku had made it to another pillar and quickly looked around until he spotted Vegeta, who was above him, and the Saiyan prince unleashed an energy blast at him, but I appeared in front of the attack and countered with a blast of my own with the combination of my energy blast and Vegeta's exploding sending me somersaulting backward in mid-air.

"Kaio-ken, times two!" Goku yelled and he took off into the air covered in a red aura when Vegeta blasted at him again.

"Look out!" I yelled after uprighting myself, Goku managing to dodge the attack as half of the upper part of his Gi was destroyed by Vegeta's attack that also scraped a part of his chest.

"Well done, you dodged it, and that earthling took care of my other energy blasts, though I made those easy since it wouldn't be any fun if you two died right away," Vegeta stated and I glared at the bastard who was clearly mocking us.

"Is that so? Wouldn't want to disappoint you now, would we?" I countered with a hard edge in my tone as Goku descended to a rocky pillar and I joined him while Vegeta landed on the one across from us.

"You should be honored, earthling, facing a Saiyan elite such as myself and putting up a good fight is a rarity since those who do face me don't usually last long.

I have to admit you do have some skill, though it won't be enough because you will still die alongside Kakarot," Vegeta told me smugly and I chuckled.

"Thanks for the "compliment", and you aren't half-bad either when it comes to skill and experience, though I was just warming up so hope you're ready for what happens next," I declared as Goku tore off the rest of the upper part of his Gi.

"Hey, since the Kaio-ken times two isn't working, there's only one way..." Goku told me, and my eyes widened at that.

"Goku, you're not seriously suggesting that you're going to go above times two, right? From what you told me, doing that is extremely dangerous and it could seriously injure you," I pointed out and Goku nodded.

"Yeah, it might destroy my body but it's better than dying, so my only choice is to go Kaio-ken times three," Goku replied, and I sent him an uncertain glance.

"I hope you know what you're doing since your body is not used to going above times two so the strain of using that much power without any training could severely damage you," I said hesitantly and Goku sent me a reassuring smile, which didn't work but he appears to have made up his mind.

"Why are you two hesitating?! Come on, it's your move! I see, no more tricks up your sleeves?! Not that they would do you much good since even among the other Saiyans, I was always the most powerful by far!

I don't care if you have trained every minute of your entire life for this, Kakarot, you will always and forever be a low-ranked outcast and nothing more while that earthling next to you will wind up in the dirt just like the rest of your friends," Vegeta stated arrogantly and I scowled.

That asshole was irritating the shit out of me because of his arrogance so it was time to teach him a lesson he will never forget just as Goku closed his eyes and exhaled heavily while I hardened my eyes and prepared to power up.

Goku started letting out strained groans as his muscles began to enlarge a bit and I began to power up while the ground began to tremble, seeing Vegeta narrowing his eyes in confusion as Goku and I both got ready to unleash our power.

"Body, don't fail me now...Kaio-ken times three!" Goku shouted as his energy started rising, the man grunting from it while I growled as my energy began to rise as well.

Goku started screaming and I let out a roar as steam started coming off the Saiyan next to me while a flaming golden aura with bioelectricity began to surround me.

Vegeta looked stunned by what was happening while the wind whipped up violently around us with the red aura of the Kaio-ken surrounding Goku's body.

"You want us to come at you with full force?! Well, here we come!" I snarled loudly before Goku and I launched ourselves off the rocky pillar and went straight at Vegeta, whose pillar broke, and he started falling.

Goku made it to him first and slammed his fist into the Saiyan prince's face, sending him flying and I appeared in his way before following up with knocking him into the air by kicking him in the back with two feet.

Vegeta recovered just as Goku flew around him and he tried to blast him, but Goku was too fast and he, as well as I, kicked him from above which sent him flying as he smashed through a rocky pillar and crashed into another, leaving a large hole in it.

It didn't take long for the rocky pillar to explode with Vegeta yelling as he looked pissed and he tried to punch Goku as the person in question came at him, but Goku dodged and appeared behind him, kicking the Saiyan prince over to me until I took the opportunity to start pummeling him with fast and vicious punches and kicks while not giving him a chance to defend himself.

I finished it by slamming a knee into his abdomen and he hacked up a mixture of blood and saliva before doing an axe kick to launch him to the ground, only Vegeta recovered and started coming at me and Goku with one of his fists glowing white.

I dodged and so did Goku, who retaliated by punching him in the gut when Vegeta stumbled back while clutching his abdomen as he coughed and wheezed from getting the breath knocked out of him.

Vegeta looked at us in a mixture of pain and fury, jumping back to a large pillar while Goku winced, and it looked like the strain on his body was becoming agonizing for him.

Vegeta tried to launch an energy blast at us but Goku appeared and caught his fist while grabbing the other one, then they started struggling when Goku started pushing Vegeta's fists back and the pressure on his wrists caused the Saiyan prince to yell in pain but he managed to break free and attempted to attack him with a double-handed axe handle, only for me to fly up to kick him in the head to disorient him.

Goku followed up by brutally beating the man who was starting to look more and more injured and there was one time where he had elbowed Vegeta into a rocky area.

I grimaced since that looked agonizing and Goku slid down the mountain before stumbling back and groaning in pain from the strain that the Kaio-ken times three was putting on him when Vegeta managed to pick himself up.

"A-Are you kidding me?" Goku questioned with a pained smile and even I was surprised that Vegeta got up after something like that.

"I know, this guy is tough, so I doubt we're going to be able to finish this quickly," I admitted as Vegeta looked infuriated.

"I belong to the upper echelon of the most elite warrior class the universe has ever seen so I will not be bested, certainly not by some low-born amateur and a fucking earthling! I am the greatest warrior who has ever lived!" Vegeta yelled lividly and I scoffed.

"If you're so great, then why are you getting your ass kicked by us?! If I were you, I'd call it quits while you still have your pride intact!" I called up at him and Vegeta looked even more pissed than he already is as his eyes bulged out in pure rage at my words.

"How dare you, I will make you and Kakarot suffer dearly for that...no, no, I will not allow this humiliation to stand! I cannot allow this to stand!

Your insolence just cost you this world so I'll blow it all to fucking pieces, and there's nothing either of you can do to stop me!" Vegeta roared, sounding like he had completely lost it as he started powering up while Goku and I widened our eyes in horror.

"He going to what?!" Goku exclaimed just as Vegeta took off into the sky and then he hovered high above us.

"Try to dodge this, if you can! You might manage to save yourselves, but your precious earth is fucked!" Vegeta snarled as he was covered in a violet aura and looked like he was going to unleash a powerful attack.

"Holy shit, that crazy bastard's going to try to blow us all to hell, so we need to do something, or we're screwed!" I exclaimed as I quickly racked my brain for a solution when an idea came to me and Goku appeared to have come up with something as well.

"Yeah, you appear to have the same idea so let's counter his attack with ones of our own! It's the only way!" Goku groaned as he went to cup his hands at his side, and I held out my hand while holding my arm with my other one as I started charging up my attack and so did Goku.

"Ka...me...ha...me..." Goku groaned while a bright bluish-white orb of energy started gathering between his hands.

"Shadow..." I growled while a dark purple orb of energy started appearing in front of my palm and grew slightly big.

"It's hopeless, there's no way either of you can stop my galick gun, now prepare to join this filthy orb into oblivion!" Vegeta yelled before unleashing a massive energy wave at us.

"Ha!" Goku shouted as he unleashed his attack.

"Buster!" I roared while unleashing mine as well, our two energy waves shooting up at and colliding with Vegeta's galick gun.

Goku and I struggled to push back the energy wave as it was stubborn, and I poured a little more power into my shadow buster attack.

I faintly heard Goku screaming something about Kaio-ken times four as our energy waves got even more powerful and started pushing back Vegeta's attack, the Saiyan prince not having time to dodge as our attacks overwhelmed his and he was engulfed by them, launching him into the sky as his agonized screams faded.

'Hopefully, that'll end him,' I thought just as my golden aura faded away and so did Goku's red aura, then the Saiyan fell to one knee and let out wheezing gasping breaths as he looked to be in so much pain.

"You okay?" I asked with a look of concern and Goku sent me a grimace.

"Y-Yeah...just give me a minute," Goku wheezed out just as I sensed someone coming.

"Goku, you magnificent bastard!" somebody shouted, and I quickly looked to see a heavy-set man with long spiky black hair, a knee-length red yukata with a holstered katana, and sandals come running over to us while Goku looked surprised to see him.

"Yajirobe, what in the world are you doing out here?" Goku questioned in bewilderment.

"Well, uh, someone had to keep an eye on you so as strong as you are, you almost got your ass handed to you a couple of times and if it weren't for this stranger helping out, things might've gotten worse, huh?" Yajirobe remarked and Goku chuckled.

"I guess," Goku muttered and Yajirobe went to look at me.

"Hey, I don't know who you are, but that was certainly something else so thanks for helping Goku," Yajirobe said, and I scratched the back of my head with a humble smile.

"It's no problem, and my name is Greg," I replied as Yajirobe smirked.

"Anyway, way to launch that alien dude into orbit so nice one, you guys!" Yajirobe praised us before clapping a hand on Goku's back, making the Saiyan scream in pain, and I was startled by that while Yajirobe recoiled.

"Oh shit, you alright?!" I exclaimed while checking to see if he was okay as Yajirobe looked shocked.

"What happened? I barely touched you," Yajirobe said as Goku wheezed in agony and I was hesitant to touch him out of fear of causing him more pain.

"I may have pushed my body a bit past its limit," Goku groaned and Yajirobe crossed his arms.

"Well, I guess I'm not surprised since you were on fire," Yajirobe replied and Goku looked at him with a pained grimace.

"Listen to me...Yajirobe...you got to get out of here because it's...not safe yet," Goku warned, and I was confused at first until I reached out and sensed that Vegeta was still alive.

"What are you talking about?" Yajirobe inquired and then his eyes widened in horror as he added, "Uh...you mean..."

"Yeah, he's right, that bastard is still alive somehow, so I have no idea how that is possible since our combined attacks should've killed him," I said as Goku managed to stand up until he and I looked up at the sky tensely.

"Yeah, who cares? Let him come back if he wants since you guys will just blow him away again, right?" Yajirobe asked and I grimaced as Goku grinned weakly.

"Well, not necessarily...my body's pretty worn out so that might've been all I had in me," Goku admitted, and I scowled.

"And considering that asshole even survived my shadow buster attack, I'll need to figure out another way to put him down or we're screwed," I added grimly and Yajirobe started looking uneasy.

"You don't say, huh? Uh, well, uh...oh, look at the time, I got to go but don't worry, I'll be here in spirit!" Yajirobe exclaimed before he ran off and Goku looked at him in confusion.

"Goku, it's probably for the best that he leaves since he's not strong enough to help us deal with Vegeta and it's like you said, it's still not safe here right now," I pointed out and Goku nodded in agreement as we went back to looking up at the sky and waited for Vegeta to show his ugly face.

'What the hell is he doing up there?' I thought as Goku and I kept staring up at the sky, Vegeta taking a long time to come back down, and I wondered why he was taking a while, but I certainly wasn't complaining since it was giving Goku enough time to recover, though we soon spotted Vegeta descending from the sky.

"It's about time he came back down," Goku muttered as Vegeta landed on a rocky pillar, but he didn't look angry anymore, more confident and smugger now so that had me suspicious.

"Kakarot, rather clever of you and the earthling, blasting the moon right out of the sky; but I'm afraid it was all for nothing!" Vegeta stated and I tensed up since I knew what he was talking about, but Goku looked confused.

"What? Why would we do that?" Goku questioned in bewilderment and Vegeta laughed amusingly while I noticed that his tail wasn't wrapped around his waist anymore and a chunk of one of the shoulder pieces of his armor was gone.

"Fine, go ahead and play dumb but I'm curious, do you or the earthling even know why it is we Saiyans transform when we see a full moon?" Vegeta inquired and I was curious as to how that happened, but Goku blinked at the question.

"Wait...we do what?" Goku wondered as he looked puzzled.

"The moon appears lit only because it reflects the light of the sun, but when the sunlight is bounced from the lunar surface, it causes a slight shift in the wavelength and creates what we Saiyans know as a blutz wave, and when the moon is full, their intensity is over seventeen million zenoes," Vegeta explained but Goku looked even more confused by that.

"Uh, I'm afraid you lost me there," Goku admitted, and I sweat dropped at that, but I kept my focus on Vegeta since I was wondering where he was going with this because he couldn't transform now that the moon had been destroyed by Piccolo.

"Once seventeen million zenoes are absorbed by the Saiyan retina, our bodies respond to a biochemical reaction produced in the tail and we transform," Vegeta said and I narrowed my eyes.

"While the science lesson is fascinating, I don't see where you're with this since you can't transform because of the moon being destroyed," I pointed out and started feeling uneasy when Vegeta let out a dark chuckle.

"That's where you're wrong...among the elite of our race, there are those capable of actually producing a satellite with the emission of zenoes necessary to effect the change, and as luck would have it, I am just such an elite," Vegeta told me and my eyes widened in horror once I realized what he meant.

"Oh god, you don't mean..." I trailed off and Vegeta grinned sinisterly.

"Yes, I don't need the moon to transform when I can merely create an artificial one so observe when my power ball mixes with the oxygen in this atmosphere!" Vegeta declared as he created a ball of energy in his hand.

"Goku, we can't let him throw that thing!" I shouted and leaped at Vegeta with my sword out to slice him in half.

"Too late!" Vegeta stated as he quickly threw it into the sky before I could stop him, then I halted and looked at the energy ball in horror as it flew into the sky.

"Oh shit," I gasped as I knew all hell was going to break loose since I still remember Gohan's rampage as a great ape so Vegeta turning into one was seriously bad.

"Burst open and mix!" Vegeta growled before closing his hand into a fist and there was a burst of light that made me look away while closing my eyes until it died down and I quickly flew away so that I could get some distance.

"Wha...what is that?! What have you done?!" Goku exclaimed in shock and disbelief as he stared up at the large ball of energy.

"Boy, would that long-lost tail of yours ever come in handy right about now!" Vegeta mocked arrogantly as he looked directly at the artificial moon, just as I could see him starting to change as Goku stared back at him in horror.

"Goku, we need to kill him before he becomes a great ape!" I shouted as I put away my sword and started charging up an energy blast, then I let out a shout as I shot it at Vegeta, and it impacted where he was standing as an explosion erupted that made Goku shield his face with his arms as there was nothing but smoke.

I didn't know if that got him or not but I wasn't taking any chances so I fired a few more energy blasts to make sure as explosions happened and I waited to see the smoke clear up so that I could see if he was dead.

I was horrified when a growing Vegeta shot up out of the smoke as his face had pushed out into a snout full of razor-sharp teeth, his eyes became blood red, fur covered him, and his muscles expanded while he was roaring until the pillar, he was standing on had crumbled under his increasing weight as he became as big as a skyscraper.

"No...this isn't real!" Goku yelled in disbelief as Vegeta was roaring and I quickly looked at Goku.

"Goku, get out of there!" I shouted urgently just as Vegeta went to swing his massive fist at the man, making him throw himself out of the way as the pillar was smashed to pieces by the fist and I quickly met up with Goku before we were forced to dodge the massive fists coming our way when Vegeta laughed as we quickly hid behind a pillar.

"So then, what do you think? Rather impressive, isn't it?" Vegeta growled before he suddenly smashed the pillar we were hiding behind, making me and Goku yelp as my eyes bugged out from hearing him speak.

'Oh great, he's in control of himself but on the plus side, that's easier than dealing with him while he's rampaging out of control,' I thought as Goku and I were jumping across pillars to try and get a safe distance from Vegeta, who was stomping after us with a sadistic laugh.

"What the hell's going on here?!" Goku wondered in alarm, and I grimaced.

"Trouble, just keep moving or he'll pin us down!" I shouted as Vegeta tried to kill us by either stomping at us or attempting to swat us out of the sky.

"So, he's like...like some kind of ape monster?!" Goku exclaimed as we dodged a fist and landed on a rocky pillar behind Vegeta as the giant ape-man turned around and grinned down at us.

"How about I let you both in on a little secret? When I adopt the form of a great ape, my strength increases tenfold!" Vegeta snarled before he swung at us.

"Incoming!" I shouted before Goku and I jumped out of the way when Goku seemed to realize something, and a look of horror appeared on his face as we landed on a boulder.

"I see...it all makes sense now," Goku muttered, and I looked at him.

"What are you talking about, Goku?" I questioned and was taken aback when he started showing a look of guilt and grief.

"If he's right, if I'm really like this guy, then all those times I blacked out when I was a kid was when I transformed so... the monster that stomped my grandpa Gohan to death and smashed up the grounds of the world martial arts tournament...that was me, wasn't it?!" Goku cried out and my eyes widened at that as I was stunned to hear that but then my shock turned to sympathy as we dodged Vegeta's swipes and landed on a rocky pillar.

"Goku, I know this is a shock right now, but do you have anything else that can do a lot of damage to this guy? You trained in the otherworld, so you must've learned more than the Kaio-ken technique," I said and Goku nodded.

"There's one technique, but I'll need time to get it ready and I can't do that while he's attacking us," Goku replied, and I frowned.

"In that case, I'll keep him busy while you get it ready so hold onto this for me," I told him while removing my holstered sword from my back and handing it over to Goku, who looked confused.

"Why?" Goku asked and I sent him a smirk.

"Let's just say Vegeta is not the only one who has a combat transformation," I replied cryptically and Goku blinked at that, but he took the sword and strapped it to his back as he sent me a nod.

"Okay, just be careful," Goku told me as Vegeta was stomping over to us, then I took off into the air and let out a sharp whistle to get his attention.

"Hey Vegeta, come and get me if you can!" I shouted and Vegeta laughed in response.

"Are you seriously going to face me on your own? You must be either very brave or extremely stupid and you disarmed yourself as well, so I'll have to go with the latter," Vegeta said amusingly and I smirked.

"Hardly, I just didn't want to damage my sword for what I'm going to do to stop you permanently," I countered, and Vegeta started looking interested.

"Oh? Were you hiding some special move that'll make you think you might have an edge against me?" Vegeta questioned and I chuckled.

"You could say that...listen, your race thrives on combat and enjoys a challenge so I have a technique that should give you that challenge, if nothing but entertain you at least," I spoke, and Vegeta laughed while crossing his arms.

"Well now, if you think you can do that, then go ahead since I'm dying to know what you have in mind, but I doubt it'll do much against me," Vegeta replied and I grinned since I now had his attention, so I flew back to get some distance from Goku in order to not hurt him.

"Trust me, this technique will do more than give you a warm-up, something I'm sure an elite such as yourself will appreciate," I stated as I flew down to a boulder far away from Goku and Vegeta followed me with a bloodthirsty grin and waited to see what I had planned for him.

I knew he couldn't resist since his Saiyan instincts were most likely influencing him more while in that form, so that works in my favor since it would keep his eyes off of Goku so that the man could get his technique ready without being in danger of getting attacked by the giant ape-man.

I grinned as I started powering up and let out a yell as I began to use my technique, yellow fur starting to sprout while my face began to push out into a muzzle and my ears stretched up into points while sliding up to the top of my head.

My form became more and more vulpine as my tails formed from my spine but I wasn't done as I got down on all fours, more tails sprouting until I now had all nine as my size started enlarging more and more with the lower half of my body shifting into vulpine haunches as my clothes melded into my body while my yell turned into a roar when my size grew as big as a great ape's and Vegeta widened his eyes at my transformation.

"W-What the?!" Vegeta gasped and I sent him a foxy grin.

"Bet you weren't expecting this, were you? Ready or not, here I come!" I declared before I pounced at him, the two of us getting into a battle of two titans that'll decide the fate of Earth.

Chapter Text

I rushed at Vegeta on all fours while he roared in response and started swinging at me, only I zipped under him while going to trip him up with one of my tails but he jumped out of the way and I skidded to a stop to charge up my energy to swipe my claws at his direction.

Energy arcs lashed out at Vegeta and he continued to dodge them before charging at me with a growl, jumping up and going to stomp me but I leaped into the air and fired a few energy blasts from my mouth that made him raise his arms to block the attacks.

Devastating explosions erupted once the blasts hit Vegeta and I went to dive down at him as the smoke cleared up, going to whack him with my tails but he fired a few energy waves from his maw and I disappeared as I quickly moved behind him.

"W-What the-" Vegeta said before I suddenly grappled him from behind.

"Surprise!" I exclaimed playfully and Vegeta started struggling in my hold.

"Y-You little- let go of me!" Vegeta shouted when I started growling and began to lift him.

I roared as I threw him into one section of the rocky area in a suplex and Vegeta grunted from the impact before jumping back up to his feet just as I pounced at him, my mouth open as I went to bite him but Vegeta moved out of the way in time and launched a kick into my side.

I was thrown to the right from the impact and I got the wind knocked out of me but I quickly recovered and spun to upright myself, landing onto another section of the wasteland as our fight was causing a lot of destruction, though I charged at Vegeta and moved behind him to avoid a fist that was thrown at me until I rose up and went to swipe at him.

Vegeta spun around and caught my wrist before I could gash him up and we started grappling each other, the two of us growling and snarling while we tried to push one another back as Vegeta looked to be getting irritated at how I was keeping up against him.

Suddenly, I sensed a large surge of energy coming from Goku's location and glanced to see that a white aura of pure energy had surrounded him while he had his hands up in the air, then Vegeta noticed the glowing light and he looked before focusing on me with a grin.

"I see now...very clever distracting me so that Kakarot can try to attack me when I least expect it, but unfortunately for you, it won't work!" Vegeta snarled before slamming his head into mine.

My head snapped back as I was rendered dazed from that and thrown aside, my vulpine body crashing into one section of the wasteland as my head hurt and I managed to get back onto all fours just in time to see Vegeta leaping over to Goku, who tried to use his new attack.

Unfortunately, Vegeta fired an energy wave from his mouth that destroyed the pillar Goku was standing on and he was thrown back while the aura disappeared, and I shook my vulpine head to regain myself as Goku crashed to the ground and Vegeta chuckled darkly until Goku tried to get up but looked like he was having trouble.

"You put up a good struggle, but it appears you've reached the end of your rope, am I right?" Vegeta questioned with a bloodthirsty smile and Goku managed to stand up with his left arm hanging limply, the man barely having any energy left.

'Fuck, he's right...Goku doesn't have the energy to defend himself so he'll get killed if I don't intervene,' I thought and went to charge at Vegeta, who was heading to Goku before he raised his foot to crush him.

"Whatever shall you do?!" Vegeta mocked before going to step on Goku, who had the sense to jump out of the way in time.

However, Vegeta swatted him and Goku bounced off a rocky pillar while I was going to swipe at Vegeta, who jumped and his giant foot landed directly on Goku's legs so that made me stop and my eyes widened in complete horror as Goku screamed in pain from getting his legs broken.

"Whoops, sorry, my mistake. I outta be more careful where I step so how clumsy of me, but then again...you're lucky I crushed your legs and not your skull. This is the end of the line, Kakarot. Even if you do manage to come back to life, this planet won't be around anymore.

Also, once I'm done with you, I'll deal with fox boy over there and then there will be nothing to stop me from destroying this planet," Vegeta declared as he raised a finger and went to try to kill Goku with it, only I acted quickly and fired a small beam of energy from my mouth that hit Vegeta directly in his right eye.

Vegeta roared in agony as he stumbled back before grasping at his face, the giant ape-man still roaring and I hoped that would take his attention off Goku since the battered man wasn't able to defend himself right now, though Vegeta lowered his hands and sent me a livid glare with one eye while his right eye was sealed shut with blood going down his cheek.

"Damn...you!!! How dare you leave a scar on this face! Nobody does that to me, so just for that, your death will be slow and agonizing!" Vegeta roared before he ignored Goku in favor of charging at me.

Good, he's pissed and focused on me so Goku was safe for now but he's not able to even so much as crawl to get away so I needed to get Vegeta away from him so that Goku doesn't get stepped on, so with that in mind, I started fleeing and heard Vegeta chase after me.

"You're not going to run from me, you fucking coward!" Vegeta snarled in rage, and I should be considered lucky that I'm not a regular human who couldn't use energy or I wouldn't survive a giant pissed-off ape-man out for my blood.

Once I got a good distance away to where Goku wasn't in danger of getting killed, I spun around and skidded to a stop just as Vegeta tackled me like a linebacker and we went rolling across the wasteland as I bit and scratched at him.

"Get...off me!" I snarled before my tails lashed out to try and coil around Vegeta to restrain him, though he was smart enough to get away once he saw that.

I suddenly sensed two power levels appear in the area and recognized them as Gohan's and Krillin's, just as Vegeta's ears twitched and he jumped.

Just as he did that, a disk made out of pure energy missed him from behind and came sailing at me, which made me slap the disk away with one of my tails before the energy disk sliced through a boulder and vanished before Vegeta landed and looked back, making me get up and I looked around him to see Gohan and Krillin standing on a boulder as they trembled.

"I hope for your sake the two of you weren't expecting me to fall for that trick, though I'll give you some credit, you at least knew enough to go after my tail, not that it helped, and now that you've blown your one shot, you have no choice but to watch while I finish Kakarot and this fox boy," Vegeta said before laughing and he added, "But don't worry, it won't take long and once I'm done with them, you'll be next in line."

Vegeta laughed as I scowled at him angrily but then I saw Yajirobe come running out with his sword drawn and he jumped up to slice off Vegeta's tail, making the Saiyan prince flinch and tremble while the severed tail crashed into the ground and flopped around before going still, just as Yajirobe frantically ran to cover.

'Nice one, Yajirobe,' I thought as a look of shock and horror appeared on Vegeta's face while he groaned in pain.

"D-Damn it, w-where the hell has that one been hiding all this time?! No, this can't be happening!!!" Vegeta roared as he stumbled back.

I watched as Vegeta started changing back, the Saiyan shrinking back to normal as he looked more and more human until he was normal again while he breathed heavily, and I glanced down at him with a foxy grin since he was weaker now and much smaller than me so me just stepping on him would finish him off as Vegeta looked enraged.

"Way to go, Yajirobe! You saved the day!" Krillin called out happily until Vegeta looked at all of us with a look of murder on his face.

"You...will...all...pay! You're about to suffer in ways you can't even fathom! I'll make you regret the day you were born...your torment will be legendary!" Vegeta screamed lividly and I arched my brow.

"In case you haven't noticed, I could easily step on you if I wanted to so good luck killing me if you can," I pointed out but Vegeta took on a malicious smile and chuckled.

"Oh, but there are other ways to make you suffer," Vegeta told me before he looked at Gohan and Krillin with a sadistic grin, making my eyes widen in alarm.

Vegeta charged at them and they both yelped before jumping in different directions, only Vegeta went after Gohan and sent a knee into the kid's sternum that knocked him to the ground before he sat up with a look of pain, just as Vegeta landed before him and laughed.

I acted quickly by reaching down to grab Vegeta, who definitely wasn't expecting that so he kicked and flailed in my grip until I threw him up and swatted him into a cliff wall with one of my tails, the Saiyan prince bouncing off it and crashing to the ground.

Vegeta struggled to get up as I went to step on him, which made him throw himself out of the way and I slammed my fists into the ground in an attempt to crush him but he kept dodging as he moved back and I went after him until Vegeta was where Gohan was before I sensed a large amount of energy and quickly looked to see Krillin standing on a pillar with a large ball of energy hovering above his hand.

"Well, what the heck are you doing just standing there?! Are you ever gonna throw that thing or not?!" Yajirobe yelled and that caught Vegeta's attention before Krillin threw the ball of energy at Vegeta.

The Saiyan prince widened his eyes and jumped to avoid it, resulting in the ball of energy to pass by and fly straight at Gohan who gasped in alarm until he froze for a few seconds and then threw his hands up, causing the ball of energy to bounce off his hands and fly right back at Vegeta.

Gohan was launched back and slammed against a cliff wall before sliding down just as Vegeta's eyes widened in horror as the ball of energy flew at him and he got hit by it, then there was an explosion of light that made me squint my eyes with a grimace and Vegeta screamed in agony as he was launched into the sky and was gone soon after.

I sighed in relief as Krillin cheered victoriously and jumped down from the rocky platform he was standing on, so I changed back into my human form as my vulpine body became human with my clothes appearing on me until I jogged over to Goku and kneeled next to him.

"Hey, looks like we did it," I said and Goku let out a weak chuckle.

"Y-Yeah...looks like it," Goku groaned as Gohan and Krillin laughed joyfully until they ran over to us until they sat down on either side of him as I got my sword back from carefully taking it off Goku and strapping the weapon to my back again.

"I can't believe that actually worked, Goku," Krillin said.

"I told you that you could do it, didn't I?" Goku questioned and Gohan nodded.

"Yeah..." Gohan trailed off.

"Things got kind of hairy there for a second, but somehow, we pulled it off," Krillin stated.

"You two...must be really exhausted," Goku said and I chuckled.

"Speak for yourself, you're in even worse shape than they are," I remarked jokingly.

Suddenly, I heard something falling and I looked up while Krillin and Gohan did the same, then we gasped in shock as we saw the body of Vegeta rapidly descending from the sky until he landed nearby with a loud thud until Gohan and Krillin started shuddering.

"It's him again!" Gohan exclaimed but Krillin relaxed and smiled.

"It's okay, Gohan, he's dead," Krillin reassured him as he and I stood up.

"Honestly, I'd be very surprised if he did survive that and if he is still alive, I'll take care of him so that you guys won't have to waste any energy," I said just before Krillin and I walked up to Vegeta and gazed down at him while Krillin sighed.

"You were a monster...but I guess we can't just leave your body here so the least we could do is dig you a grave," Krillin told Vegeta's body, whose eye shot open.

"That's a luxury you won't get!" Vegeta snarled, making Gohan and Krillin yell in terror while I recoiled with a look of shock.

'Holy shit, the fuck is this guy made of?!' I thought incredulously as Vegeta sat up a little and breathed heavily.

"I have to admit, baldy, you really did a number on me since for a minute there, I thought I was done for," Vegeta groaned as he went to stand back up and hunched slightly.

"You may have succeeded in wounding me, but I still have enough strength to take care of a weakling like you," Vegeta added before he backhanded Krillin aside and Vegeta faced me.

"You know, you're really annoying the crap out of me so looks like I'll have to take you down myself," I said with an irritated look and Vegeta chuckled.

"Unlikely, because once I finish you all off here, I'll replenish my strength and then come back to destroy every living thing on this planet but I have to admit that you've made me use more of my power than I have in a very long time, and to think that you're just a bunch of puny spineless earth trash.

It hurts my pride so I've had enough...I'm finished playing your stupid little games, now your time is finally up. So, prepare-" Vegeta said until I hit him in the face, causing him to stumble back while he clutched his face.

"You talk too much," I said and Vegeta glared at me.

"For that, I'll kill you first," Vegeta threatened but I wasn't intimidated since he was weaker than I am right now.

"Go ahead and try," I challenged before Vegeta went to unleash an explosion of power that sent the others flying while I shielded the harsh winds with my arms.

I wasn't affected much by the blast as it died down and there was smoke surrounding me, then I sent out a pulse of energy that blew all the smoke away and I could see Vegeta breathing heavily as his energy dropped from what I could tell so it wouldn't be all that difficult to finish him off right now.

"Dammit...why won't you die?" Vegeta groaned as he looked exhausted and struggling to stand.

"Guess I'm just stubborn that way, asshole," I replied as Vegeta looked pissed and went to attack me but then a huge power started appearing and we quickly looked at where Gohan was until I saw him starting to change into a great ape and Vegeta's eyes widened in horror.

"N-No, it can't be!" Vegeta shouted as Gohan roared, the boy getting gigantic and looking less human so his tail must've grown back and he looked at the artificial moon but I wasn't complaining since this was something to give us an edge against Vegeta.

"Well, have fun, Vegeta," I said before taking off into the sky, leaving the Saiyan prince to deal with Great Ape Gohan alone as I flew over to Goku to check on him.

"Geez, you look like hell," I said and Goku let out a weak chuckle.

"Y-Yeah...I certainly feel like it," Goku replied just as Gohan started rampaging and smashing everything in sight.

He eventually picked up a massive chunk of rock and lifted it above his head before starting to approach us while Yajirobe shouted something nearby with Krillin calling out to Gohan, but then the giant ape suddenly stopped and I flew up so that he could see me.

"Gohan, target the Saiyan! He's the one you should go after, not us!" I yelled and Gohan snarled before turning his attention to Vegeta, who sent me a murderous glare but Gohan roared and swung the giant rock down at him.

Vegeta dove out of the way and was forced to keep on the move as Gohan tried to stomp or hit him but the Saiyan prince continued to dodge the attacks, despite taking a couple himself but then he managed to create a disk of energy and used it to cut off Gohan's tail, which was a mistake as Gohan fell on top of him while he was falling until they both crashed to the ground.

By the time the smoke cleared up, I could see Vegeta lying on the ground motionlessly next to a naked unconscious Gohan while I could sense that the Saiyan prince was still alive, only he was so weak that he wasn't a threat anymore so we've won, which was a huge relief.

I could see Vegeta twitching as he struggled to take out a remote from his cracked and nearly destroyed armor, pushing a few buttons and flopping back down while he kept gasping in pain and exhaustion until I saw what appeared to be a metal pod with a single window arrive from above, the space pod lowering to where Vegeta was and landing.

A door lowered as the pod opened and Vegeta started crawling weakly to the pod, making me start to head to him as Krillin rolled off a ledge and struggled to get up before he hunched over and went to pick up Yajirobe's sword that was next to him.

I saw the look of hate on the bald man's face and knew that Krillin was going to kill him in cold blood, which made me greatly hesitate since I knew that killing someone while they were defenseless and helpless was a terrible thing to do.

On the other hand, Vegeta slaughtered innocent people and showed no remorse for it so that was unforgivable but I was conflicted because Vegeta needed to be stopped but was executing him the right way to go about it?

'Dammit...fuck, I can't believe I'm even considering this!' I thought as I started clenching my fists, which started trembling while I was gritting my teeth.

In the end, I can't let Krillin do it since he needs to be better than that or he would be no different than Vegeta so I inwardly swore to myself while I hurried over just as Krillin made his way to Vegeta and was about to kill him, getting in Krillin's way and shaking my head.

"Krillin, don't do it," I said and Krillin looked shocked.

"W-Why are you stopping me?! He killed so many people, killed Piccolo and the others, so he needs to pay for what he's done!" Krillin protested and I sighed.

"I agree, he's done terrible things and needs to be punished for it, but killing him in cold blood while he's defenseless will make us no better than he is so him living with the shame of being humiliated in such a fashion by losing to a Saiyan raised on Earth and a few Earthlings should be punishment enough.

Still, even if he were to come back to get revenge on us, we'll be ready to stop him," I told Krillin, who gritted his teeth as Vegeta managed to climb into his ship and sat down in the chair until Krillin dropped the sword and looked down in frustration before he sighed.

"Okay then, I don't like it, but you have a point when you say it's wrong to take the life of someone who can't fight back anymore, not to mention we all owe you for showing up and helping us deal with the Saiyans since we might've died if you hadn't.

But, the next time this guy shows up, we'll make him regret he was ever born," Krillin told me and I nodded with a smirk.

"Hell yeah, we'll be ready for him next time," I agreed until Vegeta let out a weak chuckle, making me and Krillin look at him to see him smiling at us darkly.

"Well...it's about time for me to make my exit...but this isn't over, not by a long shot...and there won't be a miracle to save you next time...that, I can personally guarantee," Vegeta groaned until the door to his ship closed and the pod shot up into the sky until it's gone.

"And if you come back, we'll be waiting," I muttered with a look of determination.

Krillin went to go check on Gohan while I just sat down, the adrenaline going away and exhaustion set in but I was surprised that I won my very first fight so I got lucky since it could've been a lot worse, though Krillin brought Gohan over to Goku and they talked until I heard the sound of an aircraft arriving and looked up to see a plane of some kind descend as an elderly man peered out of the passenger windowsill and waved.

"Hey!" the old man called out and judging by Krillin's reaction, he and the others might know him.

The plane landed and a woman called out to Gohan before the front of the plane opened and a woman holding a resemblance to Gohan came running out, shoving the old man out of the way in the process while she ran over to where Goku and the others were at until she jumped over Goku and took Gohan out of Krillin's arms.

The woman cried as she reassured Gohan that she was here now as I stood up and started making my way over to them as the old man, a woman with blue hair, and a small white cat with a walking stick made their way to Goku to check up on him while Yajirobe approached the group and bickering broke out between the woman with blue hair and Yajirobe until the old man noticed me and looked curious.

"Hello there, we didn't see you so who are you?" the old man inquired and the others gazed at me so I bowed my head.

"Hello, my name is Greg and it's nice to meet all of you. I showed up when Gohan and Krillin were in trouble and decided to help out since things weren't going too well," I greeted as Krillin perked up.

"Yeah, you should've seen him, he fought one of the Saiyans all by himself and didn't break a sweat so he was incredible," Krillin described and I looked sheepish as I scratched my head.

"Well, before we continue this discussion, we should get Goku, Krillin, and Gohan to the hospital first since they aren't in great shape right now," I pointed out and the others nodded before we helped Goku onto a stretcher and took him into the plane while the woman with black hair carried Gohan inside and put a blanket around him to cover him up, the plane starting up and we took off into the sky after that.

For a while, I was introduced to the others as the blue-haired woman was named Bulma, the old man was Roshi, the cat was Korin, and the woman with black hair was Gohan's mother Chi-Chi as we talked a bit while Bulma grieved from losing Yamcha, who was the man with the long black hair and orange gi that was lying in the crater from before as Roshi was flying the plane over to where the fight against the Saiyans had started.

The others started asking me questions about who I was and why I helped them so I explained as much as I could without revealing my status as a demi-god and that my father was a destroyer god, so the others were surprised that I was also an alien like Goku and the Saiyans.

When I also told them about how my planet had been attacked a few years ago and that it was my reason for helping so that everyone on this planet wouldn't go through what I had gone through, they sent me looks of sympathy and understanding as we continued flying to where the fighting had started and arrived in the surrounding area of it.

"This is where the battle started, right? Where Yamcha and Tien went down?" Roshi asked Krillin, who was giving the elderly man directions.

"We're close, I think it was a little farther that way," Krillin told him while I looked at Bulma to see her still sobbing and my eyes softened.

"Hey, I might not have known him, but I'm still sorry for your loss...I can't imagine what that's like," I told her while Krillin looked back awkwardly.

"Bulma...I know it looks bad, and...well, it is bad, but that doesn't mean we should just quit trying, you know? Not yet, not when there's a chance we might be able to fix everything," Krillin said and that made Bulma stop crying while I looked curious.

"What do you mean by that, Krillin?" I inquired.

"Well, it's definitely a long shot, but...it might work, and unless I'm missing something, I think it's possible that everyone the Saiyans killed can be brought back to life," Krillin said, much to the surprise of everyone.

"But...how's that possible?" Bulma wondered.

"Good question," Roshi replied while Krillin looked hesitant.

"Well...I don't wanna get everyone's hopes up if it's nothing," Krillin stated.

"Wait, that's right...he started to say something about this before Greg and I fought Vegeta," Goku groaned and I looked thoughtful.

"Oh yeah, I do remember that so what do you have in mind, Krillin? If there's a way to bring everyone back, then it wouldn't hurt to tell us," I said.

"Well...the truth is...I'll explain it all later since it looks like we're here so go ahead and set us down here, Master Roshi," Krillin told Roshi as we arrived at the site of where the fighting started, prompting Roshi to land the plane.

We gathered up the dead and put them in advanced coffins that came out of capsule-like devices before taking them into the plane and we took off into the air again as Bulma piloted this time since she had regained her composure, then I stared back at the coffins solemnly and shook my head.

'Such a terrible loss of life, nobody deserves this,' I thought as we continued to fly to the hospital when Gohan stirred and woke up, making Chi-Chi gasp joyfully.

"Gohan, you're finally awake!" Chi-Chi exclaimed happily and Gohan widened his eyes before he quickly sat up.

"Easy, you can relax now since it's over," I assured him before Gohan looked up at his mother.

"Mom, is that really you?" Gohan asked softly, almost as if he couldn't believe what he was seeing and Chi-Chi started crying.

"My precious baby boy, you must be traumatized after everything you had to go through!" Chi-Chi wailed and the others looked at Gohan.

"We're all proud of you, Gohan. You really came through out there," Roshi praised and Krillin sent Gohan a thumbs-up.

"Yeah, you really did," Krillin agreed.

"But what happened? Where's the Saiyan?" Gohan asked and Krillin looked hesitant so I answered for him.

"He escaped but we won so I have a feeling we won't be seeing him again for a while, considering how much we bruised his ego. Still, even if he were to recover, he'd probably have second thoughts about invading Earth," I told Gohan, who smiled a little until a look of realization crossed his face.

"Hey, where's dad?!" Gohan asked frantically as he quickly looked around.

"I'm right here, Gohan. Right behind you," Goku spoke up before Gohan looked over the seat to see his father, who was looking worse for wear.

"I made it, and it's all because of the great job you did back there," Goku complimented, making Gohan chuckle and so did Goku while Yajirobe sent Chi-Chi an unamused look.

"You sure are something, you know that, lady? Hey, aren't you supposed to be Goku's wife? You haven't even looked at the guy since you got here so put down your 'baby' and go check on your husband, already!" Yajirobe lectured and Chi-Chi glared at him.

"Why...you little brat! No way, it's because of him that my son got into this mess in the first place! There's no reason Gohan had to get involved!" Chi-Chi retorted and I frowned.

"That's not fair, Gohan told me what happened before I met you guys so Goku died to protect Gohan after the kid got kidnapped by that Saiyan, not to mention Piccolo was the one to take Gohan away and trained him for a year while Goku was dead.

So, considering that, Goku is not to blame for any of this," I said firmly and Chi-Chi struggled to come up with something to argue, but she was unable to so she merely sent me a glare instead and I wasn't fazed by it.

"You never finished...what did you say about...bringing everyone back?" Bulma spoke up and I went to look at her while Krillin turned his attention to the blue-haired woman.

"Well...it's just a thought. Okay, here it goes. See, the Saiyans already knew about the dragon balls when they got here since they heard us talking over that communicator Goku's brother was wearing. They weren't here for revenge, at least not entirely.

They seemed a heck of a lot more interested in finding the dragon balls so they could make a wish," Krillin explained thoughtfully.

"You think so?" Goku inquired.

"Yeah, but it's what they said about Piccolo that caught my attention...do you remember what they said he was? They called him a 'Namekian', which means...Piccolo and Kami...well...it sounds like the two of them might have been aliens," Krillin said and everyone gasped.

"You just figured that out? Dude, they're both green," Yajirobe chimed in but Krillin ignored him.

"But it's what Vegeta said after that that's got me thinking because he mentioned Piccolo and Kami's home planet," Krillin continued and I started looking thoughtful.

"So? They know where Piccolo's from, big deal," Yajirobe said while Gohan widened his eyes.

"I heard that, too! I just didn't know what they meant...but they acted like they'd be able to find more dragon balls on Namek!" Gohan gasped in realization and Krillin nodded.

"That's right, so if we can get to this Planet Namek, and I know that's a really big if, but if we could find it somehow...then we might be able to bring those dragon balls back here," Krillin and I looked interested while Korin's now fully focused on what Krillin's saying.

"Oh, I get it...all we'd have to do then is wish for everyone who was killed by the Saiyans to be restored to life," Korin said in realization and Gohan looked excited.

"And I get to see Piccolo again!" Gohan exclaimed happily, much to Chi-Chi's horror if her expression told me anything.

"G-Gohan, what are...what are you talking about?!" Chi-Chi gasped in disbelief and the others started looking more hopeful.

"They'd all be alive, and if Piccolo comes back, then Kami will too! And if Kami comes back, so will the dragon balls, or if not, he can make more!" Krillin pointed out and I stroked my chin.

"Yeah, this is a great idea that might actually work, though one problem...we'll need to find out where it is and find a way to get there first," I pointed out, feeling bad about ruining the mood but I needed to say it and Bulma nodded.

"He's right, it's a whole lot easier said than done so we could never pull that off...it's like finding a needle in a haystack...it's hopeless," Bulma added.

"Not for you, I bet you could find it, right?" Krillin asked and Bulma looked at him.

"Do you know how many planets there are? Maybe if we had some clue where to look for this No-Neck, or whatever it's called, but we don't," Bulma stated, causing Krillin, Roshi, and Korin to start looking less hopeful.

"Don't worry, leave that to me. You hear that, King Kai? I bet you know just about every planet in the universe, right? Do you know where Planet Namek is?" Goku asked supposedly no one.

"What kind of question is that? Of course, I know where Planet Namek is! I'd be a pretty sorry king if I didn't know my own realm, so I can give you its exact coordinates," a nasally male voice responded with an echoing tone, which made me jump as everyone widened their eyes.

"Uh, you heard that too, right?" I asked in bewilderment and the others nodded.

"Incredible, he's the King Kai you told us about? But, we all hear him! It's like he's in the room with us!" Roshi gasped in astonishment.

"Alright, King Kai, you're coming through loud and clear. Go ahead, we're all listening," Goku said and I heard King Kai humming thoughtfully.

"Namek...Namek...let me try to give you the coordinates in Earth terminology. Here we are...now...um...it says here you'll keep a bearing of SW-sixty-six...hold on...no, that's not right...this thing might as well be written in Japanese.

Maybe this is it: SU-eighty-three by 9045-YX...yeah, yeah, try that one," King Kai informed us and I cringed while Bulma started widening her eyes.

"Wait, I wanna make sure I heard right...you said nine-zero-four-five-YX?" Bulma questioned.

"You...understood that? I'm glad somebody did because I'm lost," Krillin admitted and I sweatdropped at that while Bulma quickly looked at Roshi.

"Hey, Master Roshi, can you take the wheel for a couple of minutes? I need to do some math," Bulma requested and Roshi looked taken aback.

"Okay...sure," Roshi replied and took the wheel as Bulma went to get a calculator.

"As I recall, Planet Namek was once an extremely beautiful world, populated by many many Namekians but a long time ago, there was a major change in the planet's climate...horrible, and as a result, all but a few Namekians were wiped out," King Kai explained and Yajirobe shrugged.

"Cool, that's it. The balls are gone, big whoop. Let's get outta here," Yajirobe said and I sent him an unamused look while Korin looked irritated.

"You jerk!" Korin snapped.

"Don't jump to conclusions, we don't know what it's like on Planet Namek these days, but...I'll check my antennae...I think I found it!" King Kai notified us.

"Yes, I see...so, Kami or the Namekian who would become Kami, escaped from his home planet and came all the way here to Earth, and...if that's the case, that means two things must've happened. Either Kami lost his memory or he was too young to remember.

Either way, it's safe to assume he's had quite a difficult past," Korin spoke up thoughtfully.

"So have I, but I don't get it. It doesn't make any sense...these dragon balls can grant any wish? If they made them, then they could have like...I don't know, wished the climate normal again and all those Namekians wouldn't have died," Yajirobe pointed out and Roshi frowned.

"I doubt that would've worked because think about what Shenron said to us. We asked him to get rid of the Saiyans but he couldn't grant a wish beyond the power of the one who created the dragon balls. They were too much for Kami, so they were too much for Shenron, too.

See? It's because the dragon balls have limits that we're in this mess, to begin with," Roshi pointed out and Yajirobe chuckled.

"Well, what good are they then? I mean, come on, you might as well not even bother with them," Yajirobe and Korin slapped him in the face with his tail before laughing while Yajirobe clutched his face.

"I've been dying to do that!" Korin exclaimed happily and I sweatdropped.

"I found the Namekians! It looks like there are almost a hundred, not nearly as many as there were before but they're flourishing! Wonderful!" King Kai notified us and everyone gasped.

"Wait...there's a hundred more guys like Piccolo and Kami out there?" Yajirobe asked in shock until he started looking nervous.

"Yes, that's right, but I wouldn't worry about it too much if I were you. The Namekians are known for their gentle nature so they're nice, like Kami was on your planet. Piccolo had a mean streak, but that was more the exception than the rule.

Remember, Piccolo and Kami used to be one. Kami was exposed to the evil in humans that he never would have known on Namek, and when he decided to purge the darkness that crept into his nature, Piccolo was born, the embodiment of all the evil he had encountered," King Kai explained, and I listened since it was really fascinating to hear.

"Yeah, that makes sense...no wonder he was so mean since there are enough jerks out there to turn anybody bad," Yajirobe said and Korin nodded.

"How true," Korin agreed solemnly while Roshi and Krillin looked excited.

"Alright, then there isn't anything stopping us from going to Planet Namek and using their dragon balls to bring everyone back to life!" Roshi cheered and Bulma scoffed.

"Are you serious? That is so naive! Even if we do know exactly where this Namek place is, how do you plan on getting there? Have you considered that?" Bulma questioned with a frown and Krillin faltered

"How? Well, I dunno...I guess I figured we'd go in a spaceship," Krillin replied.

"Oh, sure, and I figured you might've used your brain for once! I just ran a few calculations to see how long it would take a spaceship with the world's best engine, built by my dad, to get us to the coordinates that King Kai gave us.

Well? Guess...never mind, I'd doubt you'd come remotely close...four thousand, three hundred, and thirty-nine years and over three months, if we survive that long," Bulma said and I winced.

"Yeah, I can see why that'd be a problem," I said with a grimace and Krillin shrugged.

"Well...that had me worried too, but I'm pretty sure I have it figured out. Something was bugging me about the spaceship Vegeta escaped in, and then it hit me. It was so small, barely big enough for one person so there's no way both Saiyans came here in the same pod, which would mean the ship that the other Saiyan came here in should still be sitting right where he landed it," Krillin pointed out.

"Hey, you're right! I bet we could find the one that Raditz came here in, too...actually, we can't, not after what Gohan did to it so that's my boy," Goku spoke up while Bulma started smiling.

Still, one alien spaceship might be enough! I can't say for sure until I see it, but I bet I can figure something out," Bulma said and Roshi looked thoughtful.

"It's probably going to be somewhere around Metro East. After the Saiyans landed, it was the first area destroyed so we'll have to look for it another time," Roshi pointed out but Krillin chuckled as he reached into his gi and took out the remote Vegeta used to have his ship come to him.

"Or, we could just use this and it'll lead us right to it. See? It belongs to Vegeta and it's what he used to summon his ship. I saw it lying on the battlefield and I thought it might come in handy, so what do you think? Was I right?" Krillin asked and Bulma snatched the remote out of Krillin's hand, then she inspected it until she started grinning.

"You're right, this could actually work!" Bulma cried excitedly and we all laughed joyfully at the knowledge that things weren't so hopeless after all, and I glanced out the window with a smile as I imagined how this was the start of a new adventure for me that I will remember for years to come.

Chapter Text

We had brought Goku, Gohan, and Krillin to the hospital and they had to be rushed to the emergency room for immediate medical attention while the rest of us had to wait outside, then some time went by until we were given the okay to visit Goku, Gohan, and Krillin.

We went to find them and located Gohan and Krillin before heading to Goku's room and we went inside, then we chatted for a little bit as I explained as much as I could about myself while leaving a few things out as an hour went by with a large man called the Ox King visiting until we laughed a little.

"Yeah...the doctor said Gohan and I will be as good as new in a few days but he wants us to stay here for observation," Krillin told us.

"Hey, you've got me beat since he told me he thought it'd be at least four months for my injuries to heal right, but he said even if they do, there's still a chance I'll never be the same," Goku chimed in.

"Oh, I wouldn't worry about that, the next crop of senzu beans will be ready in another month or so. You'll be up and about before you know it," Korin assured him and Krillin looked at Goku.

"Till then, you're stuck looking like a mummy who forgot to wrap his face," Krillin joked and I chuckled while Yajirobe huffed.

"Can't believe those quacks wouldn't even admit me after being thrown around like a ragdoll," Yajirobe grumbled and I looked at him.

"Hey, on the plus side, at least you came out of it with only minor injuries and a bruised ego," I remarked and we laughed, much to Yajirobe's dismay.

"I'm just so proud of all of you for running those nasty Saiyans off. You know, not only did you save the human race, but now everyone who died in the battle will be brought back to life!" The Ox King said cheerfully, just as Bulma came barging into the room.

"Hey, quick, turn on the TV! It's all over the news!" Bulma exclaimed just as Roshi went over to her.

"Oh, Bulma, it's you...I thought you were a mannish nurse with a dated hair-do," Roshi said, making me send him a frown for being insensitive and Bulma glared at him.

"I'm going to pretend I didn't hear that so here, check it out," Bulma said as she went over to the TV and switched it on, showing a news report that talked about how the Saiyan space pod was recovered in the ruins of Metro East as the footage showed the ship locked up in a secure location somewhere.

"That's the Saiyan's spaceship!" Krillin gasped and Bulma sent him a smile.

"Right?" Bulma said before we continued watching the news.

"Hey, I can't see!" Goku whined as the news continued to talk about the ship.

"I don't like the sound of this...our only hope and it's locked up in a lab somewhere," Roshi pointed out but Bulma still looked optimistic as she reached into her pocket and took out the remote control Vegeta had.

"It won't be for long. If this remote control that Krillin found really works, we can summon the spaceship right to our front door and they won't even know what happened," Bulma said confidently and I looked uncertain.

"Bulma, are you sure that's a good idea? I mean, have you figured out how to use that thing?" I questioned and Bulma smirked at me.

"Look, I'm the genius here so leave the thinking to me. Besides, I spent most of last night studying it so look at this," Bulma told me before she faced the TV.

Bulma went to push a few buttons on the remote that started beeping and we waited in anticipation for the ship to start moving, only for it to suddenly explode as the TV reporter ducked down with a scream and we all froze in horror as our only ticket to Namek just blew up.

"What...went wrong? Oh no, that must've been the self-destruct mechanism! That was the only ship on the planet fast enough to get us to Planet Namek! What are we going to do now?!" Bulma screamed in despair.

"It was the only chance we had," Korin groaned in disbelief when something occurred to me and I perked up.

"Wait, we might still have a chance to get to Namek," I spoke up and the others looked at me.

"What are you talking about?" Roshi asked.

"Just hear me out, we know that before he separated into Kami and Piccolo, the Namekian that arrived on Earth long ago came here on a ship so this is a long shot, but what if the ship is still out there somewhere still intact?

If we can find it, fix it up, and modify it, we can get to Namek," I said and everyone paused before looking at me in realization.

"Oh yeah, I didn't even consider that so we still have a chance!" Krillin gasped and I nodded.

"Yeah, though there's only the matter of finding it first," I replied thoughtfully.

"I believe I can help with that," a familiar voice spoke up and we looked out the window to see Mr. Popo looking at us from outside, making Bulma let out a startled scream as she fell back onto her rear and Krillin started beaming.

"Mr. Popo!" Krillin greeted happily and Mr. Popo smiled.

"Gregory is correct, Kami's ship is still out there and I know where it is if you want to see it," Mr. Popo said while Roshi looked confused.

"Hey...who's he?" Roshi asked.

"He is Mr. Popo," Korin said, making Roshi look at him.

"Mr. Popo?" Roshi questioned.

"Mr. Popo is kinda like Kami's assistant, but he'd been living up at the lookout a long time, helping out the previous guardian before Kami got there and maybe even the one before that," Goku explained.

"So, you know where Kami's spaceship is?" Krillin inquired as he gazed at Mr. Popo.

"Yes, though I'm not quite sure if it's still functional so I want to make sure before you get your hopes up. I can take one of you to it if you want to see for yourself, so who would like to come with me?" Mr. Popo offered and Krillin looked at Bulma.

"Bulma, you should go. Don't you think?" Krillin said, making Bulma widen her eyes and she pointed at herself.

"Wait, me?!" Bulma exclaimed in shock.

"Well, you kinda know about spaceships so it's only logical you should go," I pointed out as Bulma stared at Mr. Popo before she looked away uncomfortably.

"What's the matter?" Krillin inquired.

"Hey...you really trust this guy? He's just got...sort of a creepy look in his eyes," Bulma admitted uneasily.

"Don't worry, Mr. Popo's a decent guy so he's not going to hurt you but if it'll make you feel better, I could come with you if you want," I offered and Bulma looked at me.

"Would you? That would make me feel better," Bulma said and I looked at Mr. Popo.

"Is that okay?" I asked and Mr. Popo smiled calmly.

"Of course, I don't mind," Mr. Popo replied, and with that said, Bulma hesitantly went to get onto the magic carpet Mr. Popo was standing on until the carpet started hovering away from the building while Bulma whimpered nervously.

"Well, we'll let you guys know how it went," I said before going to climb through the window and start floating outside.

I noticed people gawking out at me, Bulma, and Mr. Popo from other rooms of the hospital and we teleported to where Kami's spaceship was located, Bulma gripping the carpet for dear life as Mr. Popo led the way and I followed until we soon arrived at a rocky location as it was windy and the sky was dark.

"Here we are," Mr. Popo informed me and Bulma as she looked up.

"Already?" Bulma wondered as we lowered to the ground and landed gently.

"Appears so," I replied as the chilly wind made Bulma hug herself and shiver.

"Get off," Mr. Popo instructed and Bulma looked at him.

"Why is it so cold? Where are we, anyway?" Bulma wondered while Mr. Popo hopped off the carpet.

"The Yunzabit Highlands," Mr. Popo replied and Bulma widened her eyes.

"Yunzabit Highlands?! They're across the globe, so we can't have traveled that far so quickly," Bulma gasped in shock as Mr. Popo went over to the edge of a cliff and looked around.

"Let's see...where was it? I believe it was this way," Mr. Popo informed us as he started walking down a path.

"Where are you going? Wait!" Bulma called out before she ran after him and I jogged to catch up with Mr. Popo as well until we were right behind him.

"You said there was some kind of spaceship here, but all we've seen so far are rocks! Well, where is it? Are you even listening to me?" Bulma demanded and I frowned at her.

"Bulma, you're being very rude so calm down," I lectured just as we arrived at a dead end and Mr. Popo started hopping up different ledges.

"Wait, don't leave us down here!" Bulma yelled and I looked at her.

"Don't worry, I can get you up there so grab on to me and don't let go," I told her, then Bulma hesitantly grabbed onto my mid-section and held on as I flew up before landing on another path and we continued walking until we found Mr. Popo standing at a cliff.

"This is it," Mr. Popo informed us as we saw what appeared to be a ship that was covered in green moss and Bulma gasped.

"Well, looks like we found it so let's get down there," I said and we made our way down until we stood in front of the ship.

"Is it what you need?" Mr. Popo asked.

"I don't really know...I'll take a look," Bulma replied before walking over to the ship and knocking on one of the legs keeping the ship upright.

"So, what do you think?" I asked and Bulma hummed thoughtfully.

"Interesting, it's almost like metal...but it isn't," Bulma told me and I looked at Mr. Popo.

"So, what can you tell us about this?" I inquired.

"About a hundred years ago, Kami finally told me the story of his life before he came to the lookout. He told me that when he was very young, he lived here in Yunzabit and I asked him why. "It's such a desolate land, and so few people ever go there. Why would anyone want to live in a place like Yunzabit?"

He told me he didn't, that he had no clue how he got here and he theorized that he may have hit his head since he had no memory of his parents or anything else but all he did have was a letter that read "Wait here, and we will come for you soon"," Mr. Popo explained and Bulma looked back at him after she finished examining the ship.

"That's sad, but...what does it have to do with this?" Bulma inquired.

"When Kami was a boy, he waited many years for his parents, who never came so he spent his entire childhood in Yunzabit, certain that his parents would return to him but he eventually lost hope that they would ever return and left Yunzabit.

He checked on this place from time to time but it remained the same," Mr. Popo replied and I looked thoughtful.

"So, why are you telling us this? Don't get me wrong, it's sad that he was lonely for many years while waiting for his parents to come back but I'm not sure what this has to do with the ship," I said with a puzzled look.

"You two will understand once I'm finished...now, Kami had originally thought the ship was his home and it was for a time, but it wasn't until years later that he noticed how strange it looked or that it appeared to have no way for him to enter.

But, there was a way for him to enter by saying one word, and it was...Piccolo," Mr. Popo told us and Bulma gasped until something odd started happening to the ship, the bottom suddenly lowering to the ground as a way into the ship was revealed.

"Wow, it opened right up," Bulma said in astonishment and my eyes widened in realization.

"I get it now, this ship must respond to some type of voice command," I said as we headed over to the platform, which Popo pointed at.

"Now, we have to stand on this," Mr. Popo told me and Bulma before hopping onto the platform, making do the same and I helped Bulma up onto it.

"So, Kami used to live in there?" Bulma asked and I couldn't imagine being alone in a place like this for so many years without any kind of interaction with people.

"The same command closes the door," Mr. Popo said before saying the voice command again, causing the platform to rise until we were inside the ship and lights turned on as Bulma and I looked around.

"Wow, I've never been in an actual spaceship before so this is certainly interesting," I commented as we looked at a pilot's seat and I think what was a console of some kind.

"Kami called this his house, but to my eye, it appeared to be a spaceship," Mr. Popo said and Bulma widened her eyes in realization.

"Of course, Kami is from Namek, after all! And King Kai said that Planet Namek was almost wiped out by some sort of severe change in the climate there, right?" Bulma asked.

"I heard King Kai as well, and if it's true that Kami was not of this world as I suspected, then surely something must have brought him here so I came back to have a look," Mr. Popo replied and I hummed in thought.

"Well, if this is a spaceship and it definitely appears to be, then it would fit perfectly with what Kami told you about his past," I said as Bulma inspected the pilot seat.

"Yes...with Planet Namek in crisis, Kami's parents decided to put their son on a spaceship and send him to Earth so he would be safe," Mr. Popo agreed.

"They must have thought that they could come back for him later like the letter promised but then, for whatever reason, they weren't able to. Besides, look at it, does this look even remotely like a house to you?

Yeah, this is a spaceship, alright," Bulma said and I nodded.

"Yep, now we just need to figure out how to get it to fly," I pointed out and Bulma hummed thoughtfully as she went over to the console.

"Well, the door opens, so that means it's pulling power from somewhere...I wonder if this is the main switch...no...that's not it...maybe..." Bulma mumbled as she tried to work the console, only it wasn't working and she groaned in frustration.

"That doesn't appear to be working...wait, the door is activated so as I said before, the ship responds to voice command so maybe that's how we pilot the ship, and that thing might be a sensor to detect the voice commands," I pointed out, causing Bulma and Mr. Popo to perk up.

"Of course, it recognizes words like the entrance does!" Bulma cried in realization.

"Then we say "Piccolo" to make it fly?" Mr. Popo questioned. 

"That's probably just the word you use to open or close the door, so I doubt it'll do anything else. We're going to have to try a more direct approach," Bulma told him before I sighed.

"Unfortunately, this ship probably only responds to the Namekian language and I don't know it," I stated and Bulma deflated before sitting down in the pilot seat.

"I remember Piccolo said something in a strange language when he fought Goku, but I had no idea it was an alien language...I wish I'd paid closer attention to what he said," Bulma groaned hopelessly.

"If the language you heard Piccolo speak is Namekian, then I happen to speak it too," Mr. Popo said, causing me and Bulma to quickly look at him.

"Wait, really?" I asked.

"I know that Piccolo's name means 'other world' in the language he and Kami spoke, and it just so happens that 'Piccolo' also means entrance," Mr. Popo replied and Bulma went to stand up to place her hands on his shoulders.

"Why didn't you say so in the first place? So, the name 'King Piccolo' in Namekian would translate to something along the lines of 'King of Another World'...well, what are you waiting for? Tell it to fly!" Bulma urged as she led Mr. Popo over to the voice sensor.

"Tell it to fly where?" Mr. Popo inquired.

"Hmm, how about someplace around Jupiter?" I suggested and Mr. Popo went to speak into the voice sensor in Namekian.

The console started beeping as alien words appeared on the black screen and I suddenly felt the ship shoot up at a shocking amount of speed that made Bulma and Mr. Popo yell while I let out a startled yelp since I wasn't expecting it.

Bulma fell back into the chair and Mr. Popo fell to the floor while I stumbled, trying to stay upright while the ship quickly left Earth and shot through space until it suddenly came to a stop so I went over to the window at the front of the ship and saw that we were at Jupiter.

"Holy shit, this ship got us here in seconds!" I gasped in shock and Bulma nodded as she and Mr. Popo went to the window to peer out as well.

"I know, this is an amazing spaceship!" Bulma shouted joyfully before she took Mr. Popo's hands and they started dancing happily.

"I'm so glad...if this works, that means Kami will come back as well!" Mr. Popo said gleefully and I smiled before looking up at the ceiling of the ship, feeling that things were looking up for us.

After heading back to Earth, we went to inform the others about the good news and Bulma had decided to make a few modifications to the ship while Gohan wanted to go, which his mother was completely against but Gohan lost his temper and shouted at her.

In the end, it was decided that he was allowed to go while Krillin and I told Bulma that we were going as well, as well as agreeing to meet up at Roshi's place in ten days but I had no idea where he lived so I was given direction and I was surprised to learn that Roshi lived on a small island.

Either way, I went my separate ways to train and gather supplies for the journey since it didn't hurt to be prepared because even though Namek is described as a peaceful planet, you never know if trouble is just waiting around the next corner.

Before I knew it, ten days had gone by and I was flying to Roshi's place while mentally recalling the directions that were given to me as I was wearing my backpack that had supplies for the trip, just as I saw the island that had Roshi's house and flew down while I spotted the Namekian ship, along with Bulma, Krillin, and Roshi.

"Hey guys!" I called out as I descended and landed on the sandy beach.

"Hey, you got everything you need?" Krillin asked and I nodded while I noticed that Bulma was wearing a spacesuit and had her hair cut shorter but she seemed to be in a bad mood.

"Yeah, got enough supplies for the journey," I replied just as the sound of an aircraft started lowering and we looked up to see a hovercar landing on the beach, then Gohan stepped out and I was taken aback to see him wearing a suit with a bowtie while his hair was in a bowl cut, Gohan blushing in embarrassment as the others gasped before face faulting and Krillin laughed.

"Gohan, I barely recognized you! What's wrong with your hair? You lose a bet?" Krillin asked in amusement as Chi-Chi and Ox King left the hovercar.

"No... Dad laughed the first time he saw me, too," Gohan mumbled.

"Say what you will, but I think he looks like a perfect little gentleman so he's going to make quite the impression," Chi-Chi said and I chuckled.

"Yeah, I imagine he will," I said until Roshi started looking serious.

"We're counting on you. If there are dragon balls on Namek, I know you'll find them," Roshi said and Krillin nodded with a smile of determination.

"Right," Krillin replied before shaking Roshi's hand, just as Bulma went to open the door of the ship and she, Krillin, Gohan, and I stepped onto the platform while Ox King put down a bunch of bags and luggage.

"Goodbye Grandpa, goodbye Mom, goodbye Master Roshi, and goodbye Turtle. We'll be back soon, I promise," Gohan said until the door to the ship started to close.

"Eat as much as you can, whenever you can!" Ox King said as Chi-Chi started waving.

"And don't forget to write to me every day!" Chi-Chi added and I sweatdropped at that since Gohan can't exactly send letters through space, though we entered the ship, and Gohan and Krillin looked around in awe.

"Whoa, this is kind of exciting, isn't it?" Krillin commented as I went to remove my backpack while Krillin put his bag down.

"So, Bulma, where do you want us to put our bags and stuff?" I asked as Bulma was busy strapping herself in.

"I don't care, just somewhere out of the way and hurry up!" Bulma snapped and I started looking indignant.

"Well, geez, you don't have to snap at me like that," I muttered as Bulma went to type in the coordinates on the newly installed console.

"We launch in five seconds...our destination, Namek," Bulma informed us irritably, alarming Gohan and Krillin who frantically hurried over to their seats just as the ship started up.

"Hold on a second, we're not ready to go!" Krillin yelped as Bulma counted down and the ship took off really fast.

Gohan and Krillin managed to get into their seats and I merely stood as they were yelling until the bags and suitcases started flying around and opening after impacting walls or the seats, then I put up an energy shield as our supplies went everywhere when the ship headed out into space and the shaking stopped, Bulma removing her seatbelt and glaring back at us.

"You're free to move around now if you want. Things should run more smoothly now that we've left the atmosphere," Bulma informed us before Krillin and Gohan blinked at that.

"Really? So soon?" Krillin questioned and I chuckled.

"Told you this ship was fast," I remarked just as Bulma went through the door behind us and slammed it shut behind her.

"She's grouchy today," Krillin said and I sighed.

"She'll probably calm down later," I said as we went to clean up the floor and Gohan took off his suit so that he could put on another purple gi.

"You really have a lot of respect for Piccolo, don't you?" Krillin asked Gohan with a look of surprise.

"Yep, almost as much as I do for Dad," Gohan replied just as Bulma stepped into the room and we looked at her to see that she was wearing a black bodysuit with brown boots and a yellow vest.

"Interesting outfit, never saw something like that before," I said and Bulma huffed.

"Well, I was just tired of being the only person on the ship who cared enough to dress appropriately for the mission at hand!" Bulma shouted until she started laughing intensely, making us sweatdrop.

"Hey...so...did we do something to tick her off that I don't remember?" Krillin whispered to me and Gohan, making us shrug.

Even so, we started to unpack everything that hadn't been thrown to the floor and went to get everything set up for the journey as I finished getting my supplies out of my backpack, then I went to start meditating and had a feeling that this won't be a simple trip soon.

Chapter Text

7 days, that's how long we've been traveling to Namek and I spent that time either overseeing Gohan and Krillin's training, doing some training of my own, or merely relaxing whenever I took a break. Still, I couldn't shake the feeling that things wouldn't be that simple once we arrived at Namek.

Still, we would need to convince the Namekians to let us use their dragon balls first since we were outsiders and they would be understandably wary and suspicious of us at first, but I'm sure they'll relax once we convince them we were friendly and weren't going to hurt them.

Before that happened though, we had to arrive at Namek first and I was currently overseeing Krillin and Gohan's training as they were doing image training to prepare and I hoped that we wouldn't encounter anything dangerous on Namek, but it wouldn't hurt to prepare just in case as Bulma yawned and I glanced at her, seeing that she looked bored and was putting her book aside until she sat up in the Namekian bed she was lying in.

"Could this trip be any more boring? It's only day seven and we have forever left," Bulma muttered as she picked up a can of beer.

"Well, at least books are keeping you busy," I said, and Bulma sighed.

"In hindsight, I really wish I would've thought to install a hibernation chamber on this stupid junk heap," Bulma replied before yawning again, then she looked at Gohan and Krillin who were in the middle of image training.

"So, how are they doing with that image training of theirs?" Bulma inquired curiously.

"They're making pretty good progress, especially Gohan. They keep this up, and they'll be ready for anything once we arrive at Namek," I replied until Krillin shot his eyes open and fell forward onto his hands and knees, the bald monk breathing heavily while Gohan opened his eyes, the half-Saiyan exhaling.

"Nice job...you really are just like your old man. Between that and Piccolo's training, I bet there's no one you can't go head-to-head with," Krillin complimented and Gohan smiled.

"Hey, you've got a lot of cool techniques, too. You almost had me there for a second," Gohan replied and I cleared my throat.

"So, sounds like Gohan here is doing pretty well, which is impressive if I do say so myself...though I wouldn't go so far as to say that there aren't those he can't go head-to-head with since I'd rather he didn't let that go to his head," I pointed out.

"I have a thought...you guys are so keen on mental imagery so try this one on for size, you three cleaning up the horrendous mess you've made of this ship before I resort to opening the airlock," Bulma piped up irritably and Krillin gazed at what she was talking about before looking confused.

"Uh, I hate to break it to you, but this 'horrendous mess'? Gohan, Greg, and I had nothing to do with it so this is your handiwork," Krillin pointed out and Bulma looked offended.

"Oh yeah?! Well, you know what? I'm the captain of this rig, so it's my prerogative. You think you can just sit there playing mind games while I do all the heavy lifting around here?" Bulma snapped and I looked baffled by that.

"Heavy lifting? Bulma, didn't you say you were bored?" I questioned and Bulma scowled at me.

"Don't contradict me! If you won't respect me as your captain, then at least have the decency to respect me for the rare and delicate flower that I am," Bulma huffed as she dropped the empty can she had been drinking from and went to go sit down in the pilot seat while I sweatdropped.

'Good grief, this woman is spoiled as hell,' I thought while I went to clean up Bulma's mess with the help of Krillin and Gohan.

"Hey, so I've been kinda mulling this over for the past couple of days...that creepy Vegeta guy you all beat, just where do you think he ran off to?" Bulma wondered as she looked back at us, Krillin blinking at that.

"I don't know," Krillin replied while Bulma looked thoughtful.

"It's just...I mean, it's not like he could've gone home; the Saiyan world doesn't exist anymore," Bulma pointed out and I hummed in response.

"True...well, wherever he went, it'll take him a long time to recover from the beating we gave him and that's if he'll survive long, considering the amount of damage he took but I was wrong before so let's be ready in case he does recover.

Still, I'd imagine he would go to a place with the right resources and tech to recover quicker," I stated.

"Krillin, you remember that weirdo who called himself Goku's brother said? You know, about their basically wiping out a planet's entire population and selling it lock, stock, and barrel to the highest bidder? I just wonder if the world Vegeta retreated to is one of their old 'renovation' projects," Bulma wondered.

"Well, still, let's just hope it's far enough away from Earth that if he ever decided to come back, we've got time to prepare. It took them so long to show up the first time, I'm sure it's gotta be," Krillin said and Bulma looked away.

"Why Earth had to attract the attention of a guy like that, I'll never know...creepy," Bulma mumbled as Krillin, Gohan, and I finished cleaning up.

"Well, let's just focus on bringing back Piccolo and the others first, then we'll worry about Vegeta later," I stated and everyone nodded in agreement.

After that, time passed by as the days turned to weeks and weeks turned into an entire month as Gohan and Krillin's training continued while I did some training of my own, mostly practicing my katas, meditation, and image training but refrained from using my sword to practice with it since I didn't want to hurt somebody or cause any breaches in the walls by accident.

After a whole month of traveling through space, we arrived at a green planet that I assume was Namek and it looked beautiful as Gohan, Krillin, and I took our seats to strap in and hang on, just as Bulma started piloting the ship until we descended and soon landed after a bumpy ride.

"Whoa!" Krillin gasped as we looked out the windows, the environment outside having green skies with green water while it was slightly rocky with bluish-green grass and unique-looking trees.

"Gentlemen, welcome to the lovely Planet Namek!" Bulma announced and Gohan started beaming.

"We made it!" Gohan exclaimed excitedly before we all laughed and left our seats.

I took my bag and so did Krillin and Gohan with their bags, then the three of us left the ship while Bulma was busy and we took everything in as we admired the scenery before us, the three of us looking around in complete awe.

"Wow, this...this place is a lot like where Piccolo took me to train while Dad was off in Other World," Gohan pointed out, and now that he brought it up, the environment did have some similarities to it but it was still different.

"Yeah...same kinda spot where we fought Vegeta and Nappa for the first time, guess he was kinda drawn to the landscape by instinct," Krillin agreed, just as Gohan looked down solemnly.

"I miss him," Gohan mumbled and I put a hand on his shoulder.

"Don't worry, we'll wish him and the others back with the dragon balls now that we're here," I reassured him just as I sensed Bulma running up to us from behind.

"Do you three geniuses share half a freaking brain cell between you or something?! For all you knew, this air could've been made up of cow flatulence!" Bulma screamed, startling Krillin and Gohan.

"Wow, okay...way to keep your cool," Krillin said nervously and Bulma sent him an unamused glare.

"Oh, haha, let's just focus on the task at hand, shall we?" Bulma said irritably before she took out a device called the Dragon Radar and clicked the button on the top, then the radar started beeping and she let out a surprised gasp from seeing what was on it.

"You see something, Bulma?" I asked as Bulma started grinning.

"Feast your eyes on that!" Bulma declared as she showed us what the radar was picking up and we took a look, perking up when we saw four blinking dots gathered in one place while two others were in different locations a fair distance away from each other.

"You found them?!" Krillin gasped before he started laughing joyfully while Gohan and I smiled at each other, but then I suddenly sensed something and it made my smile vanish while the half-Saiyan and I quickly looked in the direction of where it was coming from.

"Um...guys, I think Greg and I...I think we feel something," Gohan spoke up, and that made Krillin and Bulma stop laughing cheerfully as the air turned tense.

"Me too..." Krillin trailed off, sounding completely serious now.

"There's a lot of energy signatures from what I can tell and they are pretty strong, though one of them seems to be stronger than the rest so let's be careful," I said with a frown.

"Oh, come on you guys, don't be scared. It's probably just the Namekians...I mean, when you think about how powerful Kami and Piccolo were, is it any surprise their home world is full of people just as extraordinary?" Bulma pointed out and Krillin looked uncertain.

"But this power...feels kinda evil, doesn't it?" Krillin wondered.

"I'm telling you it's fine. Remember what King Kai told us, the Namekians are peaceful by nature so we've got nothing to worry about. Now, let's just stay focused on what we came here to do and find those dragon balls, and while we're at it, we'll introduce ourselves to the natives," Bulma told us, causing me, Gohan, and Krillin to look at her.

"Yeah, okay...you might be right, it could be the Namekians so maybe we're just getting worried over nothing," I agreed but I still had a bad feeling about this since one thing my dad taught me was to sense someone's energy signature to discover if they had good intentions or not.

While some on this planet felt warm and welcoming by nature, others seemed cold and sinister so that made me uneasy just as the sound of something vaguely similar to an aircraft shook me out of my thoughts and I turned around to look up at the sky, then my eyes widened as I saw a familiar space pod descending from the sky at a fast rate of speed while the others started taking up alarmed expressions.

"Looks...like...we've got company," Bulma whimpered and I tensed up when I sensed Vegeta's energy coming from inside the pod.

"That's a Saiyan spaceship!" Krillin shouted as my eyes narrowed darkly.

"It's worse than that...it's Vegeta, I recognize that energy of his anywhere," I said just as the pod crash-landed somewhere in the distance.

"It can't be," Krillin said tensely while Gohan was trembling nervously.

"Seriously, this isn't even fair!" Bulma cried in disbelief before Krillin quickly looked at Gohan.

"Gohan, mask your energy! They'll find us!" Krillin instructed urgently.

"Uh, yeah, okay," Gohan said uneasily as I felt him and Krillin lower their energy enough to where Vegeta would assume they were just the local wildlife so I did the same.

"Greg, I think you're right...I think that is Vegeta, but why now?!" Krillin shouted in frustration.

"But how could he have already recovered?! What do we do now?! It's hopeless, we have to get back home while the getting's good! Please, let's just leave before we're discovered!" Bulma yelled frantically while my hands clenched into fists.

"We can't leave...if that monster gets his hands on the dragon balls and wishes for something like immortality, we're all screw so we cannot let him get his hands on the dragon balls. Bulma, see if you can inform the others back on Earth about what's going on here.

Gohan, Krillin, and I will stay here and try to gather the dragon balls without alerting Vegeta but you need to go home since this just got dangerous and we don't want you to get hurt," I instructed while looking back at Bulma with a hard expression.

"What?!" Bulma exclaimed in disbelief while looking at me like I was crazy.

"We'll be alright, we've got the dragon radar so chances are we'll find them first. You with us, Gohan?" Krillin asked Gohan, who nodded.

"You bet!" Gohan agreed with a look of determination.

"Okay then, I'll run home, pick up Goku, and bring him back here as soon as I possibly can. Now, we're talking a round trip of at least two months, and I mean at least...buuuut, those two months will be up before you even know it, trust me!

Just think of it as sixty days; or fourteen hundred and forty hours, or maybe eighty-six thousand, four hundred minutes, or just five million tiny seconds!" Bulma exclaimed with a fake cheerful smile that made us sweatdrop.

"Two months...I think we got it," Krillin said hesitantly until he and Gohan started laughing nervously.

After that, Bulma went over to the ship to set up a long-range communicator to contact Roshi and I just looked around tensely since there was no telling when Vegeta would show up, not to mention his energy had increased since the last time we encountered him so he's gotten stronger, which made things even more complicated but then I heard the sound of another spaceship coming down from the sky and looked up to see another Saiyan spaceship.

"Uh, guys?" I spoke up uneasily and Gohan and Krillin turned around to look up at what I saw, then they started letting out whimpering sounds just as Bulma hung up and turned to face us.

"Oh, for heaven's sake...what is it now?" Bulma wondered as Krillin and Gohan shuddered before they looked at her and gestured up at the sky.

"Uh...what?" Bulma inquired and looked up, then promptly recoiled at the sight of the second ship flying by.

"Yeah...that's not good," I said hesitantly.

"Uh, didn't that ship already fly by once?" Bulma asked nervously.

"Yeah...I was, uh...just thinking that," Krillin said with a look of terror and it was at that moment that I knew things became even more complicated than they already were.

Chapter Text

"Whatever happens, we can't just sit here like this...so, uh...guess I should let the three of you get started on your search," Bulma said nervously as she stood up and walked back to the ship, making the rest of us look back at her.

"Now...like I said, I should be back in a couple of months...you boys stay out of trouble!" Bulma added until I sensed more than one person coming and quickly looked in the direction of where it was coming from.

"Hey, we have company coming!" I alerted the others, heading over to Bulma and making her hide behind a nearby boulder while Gohan and Krillin tensed up and got ready for a fight.

"Well, who is it?" Bulma inquired.

"Uh...maybe one of the Namekians?" Krillin wondered as we faced the direction of where a rocky formation was, just as four people with familiar alien armor and scouters came around the corner and they definitely didn't look Namekian.

"I...I don't think those four are native..." Bulma said uneasily just as the aliens spotted us and then they started flying up into the air gently.

"Hey, don't those suits look familiar?" I questioned and Krillin's eyes hardened.

"Yeah, they're identical to the ones the Saiyans wore, but these guys aren't Saiyans," Krillin pointed out tensely.

"Yeah, you're right!" Gohan whispered in agreement as I started looking grim, not liking the sinister grins on the strangers' faces.

"Guys, get ready to defend yourselves because I have a feeling that they aren't here to give us a warm welcome," I warned with narrowed eyes.

"Yeah, no kidding since those faces don't exactly scream out: "Hey, you wanna be friends with us?"," Bulma agreed nervously.

"Gohan, just...charge your energy, but keep it hidden. Don't let them see your full strength," Krillin told the half-Saiyan, who nodded with narrowed eyes.

"Okay," Gohan replied.

I also started charging my energy up but made sure to keep it hidden as the four aliens came to a stop above us and appeared to be chatting to one another, most likely discussing what to do with us but judging by the looks on their faces, it isn't anything good.

I got ready for anything they might throw at us when the purple alien aimed his wrist gun at the ship and before any of us could react, he blasted the ship as Bulma ducked into cover while Krillin, Gohan, and I let out gasps of horror as the front window now had a hole in it, the glass cracking afterward.

"No...those bastards!" Krillin yelled in outrage and disbelief while three of the aliens laughed.

"Sorry kiddos, I guess this wasn't a good time to go sightseeing?" the purple alien mocked and I sent him a glare of murder.

"Gohan, Krillin, it's time to let your power spike. Let's show these punks that they messed with the wrong people so you take those two while I handle the other two," I said darkly and the aliens laughed at what I said.

"What, you're gonna take on two of us by yourself? Well, if you are in that much of a hurry to die, then who are we to refuse?" the alien with long blond hair stated before gesturing for the green and reptilian aliens I pointed out to go kill me.

The green and reptilian aliens were all too happy to oblige as they flew down and landed a few feet away from us with arrogant smirks, though they wouldn't be smiling for long as Gohan, Krillin, and I started letting our power spike.

Their scouters started beeping like crazy as they detected our energy that was being unleashed and their grins vanished rather quickly as they started looking shocked before Krillin and Gohan disappeared, appearing before the alien with long blond hair and the purple alien.

"W-What the-" the reptilian alien stuttered.

I started charging him and the green alien as I flicked my sword up with my thumb and went to grab it as the two before me managed to snap out of it, but it was too late for them to react as I pulled my sword out and sliced my way through them, turning them into various bloody chunks before I blasted the remains to vaporize them.

As I was finished with that, I saw the other two aliens getting launched into the water by Krillin and Gohan while I flicked the blood off my sword with a quick swing, then I went to holster my sword as Gohan and Krillin flew down until they gave each other a fist bump while they grinned.

"Hey, nice moves!" Krillin praised Gohan with a thumbs up, who beamed proudly in response while the three of us hid our energy again.

"Who cares about your moves?!" Bulma screamed before she whimpered and started tearing up, then she fell to her knees and started crying while looking up at the destroyed ship.

"What are we supposed to do about that?" Bulma wondered as she went over to large pieces of glass and attempted to try to put them together in a futile attempt but it was completely worthless as the glass shattered into smaller shards.

"It's hopeless, I'll never get back! I'll be stuck on this heap for the rest of my natural life!" Bulma wailed in despair and I looked thoughtful.

"Actually, it's not all that hopeless because the ones who attacked us aren't from Namek, so chances are they might have spaceships we could use to get off the planet once we're done bringing Piccolo and the others back to life with the dragon balls," I spoke up and the others perked up while Bulma managed to calm down.

"You're right, good idea!" Krillin complimented while Bulma started looking more hopeful.

"Of course, why didn't I think about that?! Good thinking, Greg!" Bulma said happily and I rubbed the back of my head bashfully from the praise.

"Yeah, though we should get out of here and find someplace safe before anyone else shows up since I doubt those guys who attacked us are the only ones that are on the planet," I stated and Gohan nodded.

"Yeah, Greg's right. Those four weren't alone since there's more of them out there, and...if they're friends of Vegeta's, I don't think we wanna be here to meet them," Gohan pointed out and Krillin started smiling.

"Yeah, and besides, this ship used to be from here so we could ask the Namekians to fix it for us," Krillin added and Bulma frowned.

"I don't know, what if we can't find them? I'd rather not get my hopes up and wind up getting disappointed in the end," Bulma stated.

"I know, but if there's the smallest possibility that we might have a chance, then we should take it while we still can," I pointed out, and with that said, we packed up the rest of our supplies and started to leave the area before anyone else showed up.

'Hmm, I don't sense the other person that was fighting Vegeta anymore, looks like whoever that was just died,' I thought as I was hiking with Bulma, Krillin, and Gohan but Bulma was lagging behind a little bit.

"Come on, Bulma. You gotta pick up the pace a little bit because we're sitting ducks out in the open like this," Krillin urged as he looked back at Bulma, who was gasping for breath while leaning against a tree.

"Can't you three just carry me and fly? I mean, my feet are killing me here," Bulma asked with a whimper.

"Believe me, we'd love to help you, but Krillin, Greg, and I have to stay on foot to keep our energies hidden," Gohan stated as I spotted a cave up ahead that we could hide in.

"Over there, we can take shelter in there so come on, just a few more steps up the hill," I notified the others as I pointed at the cave.

"Oh...great...so I get to spend my time on this planet as a cave-dweller now..." Bulma whimpered while we continued to make our way to the cave entrance until we stopped in front of it, just as I noticed something that got my attention.

"Krillin, Greg," Gohan spoke up and we looked at him.

"Hmm?" Krillin hummed questioningly.

"You two feel any power coming from over there?" Gohan inquired and nodded with a thoughtful frown.

"Yeah, but something about it seems different...it doesn't feel like the other ones from before," I replied.

"Well, maybe this time it'll actually be the Namekians-" Krillin said when he suddenly stopped and quickly looked back, just when I sensed a group of people coming but they felt very wrong as my eyes widened in alarm.

"Oh crap, hide! Someone's coming from that direction, and they're not friendly!" I hissed urgently as Gohan, Krillin, and I ran into the cave to hide while Bulma froze.

"W-What'll I do?!" Bulma sputtered as I frantically gestured for her to get into the cave.

"Bulma, get in here!" Krillin urged and that made the bluenette run into the cave to hide.

"We're dead, aren't we?! I know we are!" Bulma rambled in a panic and I shushed her.

"Bulma, be quiet!" I whispered loudly, making her clap her hands over her mouth as I peered out of the cave with Krillin and Gohan, the three of us glancing in the direction of where the strong energy was.

"They're heading this way..." Krillin muttered tensely.

"I don't like this...you think they're searching for us?" Gohan wondered quietly.

"Maybe, just stay in cover until they pass us by," I replied as we kept watching the sky, and then several glowing dots started appearing in the distance.

"Look!" Krillin gasped and we ducked back into cover.

We planted ourselves against the stone walls of the cave and tried not to be seen as the ones who were flying started shooting past us while I picked up their energy levels, a few of them stronger than the rest while one of them was stronger than all the others but I sensed just how malicious and evil it was, which was unlike anything I've ever felt before as the group passed us and were gone after that.

"Okay, crisis averted. Whatever they're on the prowl for, I guess it's safe to say it's not us...thank god, but then what do you think that was all about just now?" Bulma wondered as she peered out before looking back at the rest of us to see us trembling and breathing heavily.

"Did I miss something? What's with the look?" Bulma questioned in confusion, just as Krillin stumbled outside and rested his hands on his knees.

"Bulma...I need you to check the dragon radar again," Krillin requested shakingly.

"Sure...but why?" Bulma asked.

"When you looked at it when we got here...there were four dragon balls all gathered together in the same place so take a look and see where they are right now," Krillin said and Bulma blinked before reaching into her pocket.

"Fine...but...I don't see the point," Bulma muttered while I left the cave, just as she took out the dragon radar and went to check to see where the four dragon balls were now until she let out a gasp.

"All four of them are on the move...there's no way that's a coincidence; those guys who flew over us must be carrying them!" Bulma exclaimed in bewilderment.

"I was afraid of that...guys, I think Vegeta is the least of our worries right now from what I was able to pick up while those guys were flying past us," I stated grimly and Krillin nodded.

"Yeah...Gohan," Krillin said as he looked at Gohan, who snapped out of it and hurried over to us.

"Yeah, what is it?" Gohan asked and I glanced at him.

"Were you able to see the one flying second from the front? More importantly, did you sense him?" I questioned and Gohan gulped.

"Yeah...I did...and his power is unbelievable," Gohan replied.

"I know, the moment I saw him, my heart sank," Krillin agreed.

"Not only that, but I could sense so much malice coming off him so I think that whoever we're dealing with here is far more dangerous than Vegeta...also, the ones who were with that guy looked like they could do out a lot of damage as well.

Still, there's no doubt in my mind that whoever that was is in charge so this is a big problem," I stated darkly while Bulma widened her eyes.

"But...seriously?! Vegeta? Someone worse than Vegeta?!" Bulma gasped in shock as Krillin looked at her uneasily.

"A whole lot worse...I think his minions are like Vegeta's fellow officers since they all had on the same stupid-looking uniform...dammit, this is impossible! How are we supposed to get the dragon balls away from a crew like that?!" Krillin exclaimed in frustration.

"We need to do something because whatever they're planning to wish for cannot be good for any of us," I pointed out tensely just as Bulma started checking her dragon radar.

"Hang on...look, according to the radar, they're moving full speed toward another dragon ball...I guess that means they've got a radar, too," Bulma informed us anxiously.

"What's the location?" Krillin inquired as we all gathered around and Bulma pointed in the direction of where the group of people went.

"That way, looks like it's just a few miles away from here," Bulma said as Gohan narrowed his eyes.

"And that's where we were sensing all that other energy a minute ago, so maybe that's where the Namekians live," Gohan said and I nodded.

"Then I'll head there to take a look to see what we're dealing with so wait here," I said as Krillin took off his ball cap and dropped it.

"In that case, I'll come with you since you'll need someone backing you up in case it gets ugly," Krillin suggested and I nodded.

"I'll come with, too," Gohan said and I shook my head.

"No, you stay here since someone needs to keep Bulma safe while we're gone. Let's not forget that we also have Vegeta to deal with, so it's better one of us stay here to make sure Bulma is safe, and I'm not taking no for an answer either," I stated as Gohan looked like he wanted to argue.

In the end, he conceded and nodded as Krillin took off the top part of his gi to remove his blue shirt and he put the upper part of his gi back on, then we suppressed our power and started hopping across different parts of land across the water, heading to where the Namekians are as I just know things were going to get ugly soon.

Chapter Text

'Okay, we should be getting close, now,' I thought as Krillin and I were running.

We traveled for a bit to get to where the group of people flew to as we jumped and ran across different landmasses but we still kept our power suppressed since we didn't want to alert them that we were coming, though we should be arriving at where the Namekians were.

"Greg, we should be close now," Krillin told me and I nodded.

"Right, keep your power suppressed for now," I replied as we jumped over to another landmass and came to a stop in front of a hill that led up to a cliff.

"Alright, they're on the other side of that cliff so let's sneak up on them," Krillin informed me before we got low and started moving cautiously up the hill.

"Geez, the power I'm sensing from these guys is nuts," I muttered and Krillin gulped.

"Yeah, no kidding," Krillin agreed quietly, the bald monk sounding completely anxious.

We kept moving cautiously as we made our way up the hill and arrived at the cliff, getting down onto our stomachs and peering over the cliff to see the group was in what appeared to be a village of some kind, so I looked at Krillin and raised a finger to my mouth in a gesture to be quiet.

Krillin nodded and we watched what was happening as I studied the group with the sinister energy, seeing that the ones who appeared to be the henchmen weren't all that strong but the alien with the green hair, the pink alien with spikes, and the alien with horns who was sitting in a hoverchair were the bigger threats.

I frowned since the one in the middle was someone to be extremely cautious of because his power was even higher than the ones on either side of him, though Krillin gently nudged me and I glanced at him before he gestured at the pink alien and alien with green hair, or something they appeared to be carrying under their arms.

I looked back at the two aliens and narrowed my eyes as I got a closer look at what they were carrying, seeing what appeared to be large orbs with red stars and I glanced back at Krillin as he mouthed that those were the Namekian dragon balls we were looking for.

I sent him a nod before looking back down at the village and wondered how we were going to get the dragon balls from these people since I doubted that they would hand them over if we asked nicely, though I soon saw activity that was going on down in the village.

I saw five green people leaving one house as they consisted of elderly men and children, the elders looking similar to Piccolo and Kami so they must be the Namekians that we were looking for as Krillin let out a quiet gasp of surprise.

I watched as the Namekians were forced to walk over to the three aliens and one of the Namekians scowled when he saw the dragon balls the alien with green hair and the pink alien were carrying, then the middle alien started talking to them and it was hard to hear from this distance away.

Nevertheless, the alien with horns raised a finger and started gathering ki at the tip before a small glowing red orb of energy appeared while his tail tapped the side of his hover chair, making me and Krillin tense up since this didn't look good.

But, the ki attack disappeared and the alien with horns said something to who I assume was the elder of the village, who started clenching his fists and responded by saying something as the conversation continued until I heard the word dragon ball being said by the alien with horns, making me and Krillin gasp.

This was bad, they were after the dragon balls and this confirmed it as the elderly Namekians started sweating a little and I think I heard the alien with horns called the pink alien Dodoria as he talked about how he had killed a couple of Namekians who were being uncooperative and I scowled.

'This son of a bitch...and I thought Vegeta was an asshole but this guy is a complete sociopath,' I thought as I was trembling slightly.

The village elder shouted that the alien with horns was a liar but the alien talked about how he would give a demonstration and asked the alien with green hair, who was named Zarbon, to make an example to get them to cooperate.

I couldn't just stand by and let this happen or I would regret it for the rest of my life, so when Zarbon went to attack one of the elderly Namekians, I suddenly flew off the cliff before Krillin could protest and got everyone's attention as they were taken off guard.

Before Zarbon could react, I slammed a fist into his face and he was thrown into a cliff. At the same time, I kicked Dodoria into a house as they dropped the dragon balls before I went after the alien with horns, sending a kick into his face. He was thrown out of his hover chair, and the alien was sent to the ground as the low-ranking minions bugged their eyes out in shock and disbelief.

"H-He just attacked Lord Frieza, Dodoria, and Zarbon, kill him!" one soldier shouted as he and the other hostile soldiers went to aim their wrist guns at me before I glanced at the village elder.

"Go, get everyone out of here!" I yelled and the village elder nodded before he started urging the other Namekians to leave.

Before they left, I started blasting the scouters on the soldiers' faces to destroy them while Frieza got up and sent me a glare of murder as Zarbon and Dodoria quickly flew over to attack me, though the village elder shot their scouters with small ki blasts to destroy them also as Krillin joined in to assist me.

I started fighting Dodoria and Zarbon while Krillin was busy dealing with the henchmen who were blasting at him with their wrist guns, though the bald monk was putting up a good fight while I was busy blocking and dodging punches and kicks that Zarbon and Dodoria threw at me.

As Krillin and I were busy fighting, three adult Namekians showed up to join in and they started killing the soldiers with quick attacks and ki blasts, prompting Dodoria to separate and go after them before he punched a hole in the back of one, elbowed the second one, and while the third one tried to put up a fight, he was smashed against a cliff face and killed instantly.

My eyes widened before I was struck in the face as a result of being distracted, then Zarbon punched and kicked me a few times until I was sent into a cliff face where I let out a shout of pain, my body leaving an imprint in the wall as Frieza brushed off any dirt that was on him.

"I don't know who you and the little bald one are, but I must admit it's the first time someone has taken me off guard like that so let me reward you for your stupidity," Frieza told me before he sent a nod at Dodoria, who suddenly blasted the two other elderly Namekians and one of the children as they were killed instantly.

"No!" I screamed in horror just before the elder of the village blasted at Dodoria.

That was a mistake as Dodoria dodged and attacked the Namekian, soon killing him by snapping his neck and that caused a spark of rage to flare up in me as I roared in fury with my power getting unleashed that destroyed the cliff face before I shot at Dodoria, who wasn't expecting it as I kicked him into another house and Krillin flew over to grab the lone surviving Namekian child.

"Greg, we need to run, now!" Krillin yelled and that snapped me out of my rage.

He was right, the Namekian child needed to be taken to safety so I took off into the air and so did Krillin, the two of us flying from the village as fast as we could as Krillin held onto the Namekian child until I looked back and widened my eyes when I saw Dodoria chasing us.

"Hey, uh, I don't mean to alarm you but we got company and not the friendly kind!" I notified Krillin, who looked back and his eyes widened.

"Oh crap, he's already on top of us! He's just too fast!" Krillin shouted as Dodoria got even closer.

The pink alien got close enough to start firing ki blasts at us and we yelped before performing evasive maneuvers to avoid getting hit but Krillin was eventually struck by one ki blast, making him let go of the Namekian child who screamed as he plummeted like a sack of bricks.

"No! Dammit!" Krillin yelled before flying after the kid.

I braked and flew down as well since it looked like Krillin wasn't going to catch the kid in time, so I put on an extra burst of speed and flew fast enough to where I caught the kid before he could hit the ground and I let out a sigh of relief.

"Greg, thanks for the help, but move! He's right behind me!" Krillin yelled as Dodoria chased him, and then the pink alien fired a ki blast from his mouth.

Krillin dodged the attack and it was now coming at me and the kid, making me yelp before I flew up and the attack impacted the cliff with an explosion happening until I started flying away from Dodoria with Krillin joining me.

"Krillin, he's getting closer so if you have anything that can slow this guy down, now would be a good time to use it!" I exclaimed and Krillin perked up.

"Hey, I think I have an idea! Okay, we'll never be able to beat this guy in a fair fight, but we're not beaten yet! I'm gonna try something but whatever you do, don't look at me!" Krillin warned and I nodded.

"Okay, Krillin!" I replied and looked away.

"Try this on for size! Solar flare!" Krillin yelled before a blinding light erupted next to me and I made sure not to look as Dodoria yelled in pain, presumably from getting blinded by whatever technique Krillin used on him.

"My eyes! I can't see!" Dodoria screamed, prompting me and Krillin to stop as I looked to see Dodoria covering his eyes with his hands, the pink alien yelling and groaning.

"Nice work, now hide!" I exclaimed before Krillin and I flew down as fast as we could.

We went to hide in a crevasse and stayed as quiet as we could while Dodoria recovered from Krillin's attack and started searching for us, calling out for us to show ourselves but we didn't move as the pink alien was getting angrier and angrier until he passed by our hiding place, then Krillin peered out.

"Okay, as long as we keep our energy suppressed, we should be safe here. It's a good thing you and that village elder destroyed the scouters when you both did, Greg," Krillin told me quietly and I nodded.

"Yeah, seeing as they were able to track our energy with their scouters like when the Saiyans did and that they were also using them to possibly locate the dragon balls, destroying them would give them a major disadvantage and make things easier for us," I replied as Dodoria kept flying around to try and find us when he suddenly flew up.

"Looks like he might be giving up," Krillin said but he didn't sound certain and I was also uncertain as Dodoria stopped high above the air.

"I'll just level the place!" Dodoria shouted as he charged up an energy attack.

"Take cover!" I yelped just before Dodoria fired his attack.

We managed to get out of there when the attack impacted the water and caused a massive explosion that leveled the surrounding rocky formations and islands, Krillin and I flying as fast as we could to get away from the explosion as I held the Namekian kid in my arms.

We hovered in the air once the explosion died down and Dodoria flew down to gaze at the water and he laughed victoriously, then he muttered to himself before flying away and was gone after that as we waited for a little bit and sighed in relief when he didn't come back.

"Okay, he's gone so thank goodness for that," I said.

"That was a close one...now let's head back and see if we can find Bulma and Gohan," Krillin said before I looked down at the kid in my arms.

"Hey, um, you wouldn't happen to already know how to fly, yeah?" I asked and the kid looked up at me.

"I think so," the kid replied so I hesitantly let him go and he started hovering next to me.

"Sir...thank you for putting yourself in danger to try to save me and the people of my village," the kid told me gratefully and I rubbed the back of my head.

"It's no trouble, your village needed help and I had to step in, not to mention Krillin helped out so he came through for us there," I said and Krillin chuckled as he scratched his cheek bashfully.

"Yeah, well...the important thing is that we're all still here so you should probably stick with us for a little while. What do you say?" Krillin offered and the kid widened his eyes.

"You mean...okay," the kid agreed with a smile and the rest of us grinned.

"Great, now we should get going before something else happens so stay next to us, okay?" I told the kid, who nodded and we all started flying back to where Gohan and Bulma were as we kept an eye out for Frieza and any of his men that were on the planet.

"Bulma and Gohan are hiding in one of the caves up ahead so only a little farther to go now," I informed the kid as the three of us continued flying.

"For this being your first time on this planet, you sure know your way around," Krillin commented before I suddenly sensed someone coming and quickly looked back.

"Hey, you feel that?" I questioned tensely as Krillin also looked back.

"Yeah, somebody's coming right for us!" Krillin said urgently.

"Hide, now!" I exclaimed before Krillin took the kid's hand and we immediately started descending, landing on a cliff and ducking into an opening that led to a dead end.

This was a really bad spot to hide since it was too open and we were going to get spotted but we didn't have a choice right now, so Krillin and I went to suppress our energy as I went to hold the kid close to me as he trembled.

"I've got a feeling it's that giant pink guy...aw man, there's no way he should have been able to catch up with us that fast," Krillin muttered while I sensed the unknown person arriving and coming to a stop, then I looked up once I felt that they were nearby and froze when I saw them so they weren't Dodoria, but the person was just as bad as I saw that it was Vegeta.

"Um, Krillin, you might want to look up right now!" I hissed and Krillin looked up to see Vegeta before he flinched with his eyes widening in horror.

Vegeta went to look at where we were hiding and we ducked down as I covered the kid's mouth and raised my finger to my mouth in a gesture to be quiet, so looks like it was confirmed that Vegeta was on Planet Namek and he was already healed up from what I could see.

This was really bad, he was definitely stronger than the last time Goku and I faced him from what I could tell so we couldn't let him see us and we waited in a tense silence as Vegeta hovered for a little bit until he flew away and started searching the area as we peered up.

"Alright, I don't think he saw us," I whispered.

"Did you see that? Those scouter devices...I don't think Vegeta was wearing his. Without it, he shouldn't be able to pinpoint where we are," Krillin pointed out quietly until something just occurred to me that filled me with dread.

"Um, Krillin, you don't think he learned how to sense a person's energy without the use of a scouter, right?" I questioned uneasily and Krillin froze.

"Greg, we might have to assume that he can so...he'll eventually sense our energy, no matter how much we try to hide it," Krillin replied before glancing at the kid I held close.

"Yeah, if that's the case, then we're in serious trouble," I stated quietly before glancing down at the kid and widening my eyes as I realized that he didn't know how to suppress his energy like Krillin and I did so Vegeta was going to sense him, and I was proven right as the Saiyan prince started descending to where we were hiding.

"Oh crap, he's coming!" I hissed in alarm before we ducked down and I felt the kid trembling in my arms.

Vegeta was going to find us so Krillin and I might have no choice but to fight him and that was something we needed to avoid since that would put the kid in danger, though it was looking like we wouldn't have any other option but to fight him so I sent Krillin a nod with narrowed eyes and he returned it with a nod of his own to show that he understood that we might not have a choice here.

I moved the kid aside to where he was next to me and Krillin as we stood up and pressed ourselves against the stone wall, then we started to run out to confront Vegeta and were about to get ready for a fight when something erupted from the water with a major splash, something big.

It appeared to be a giant Namekian fish of some kind as the loud noise of it coming out of the water and the creature's bellowing masked the sound of our startled yells, then Krillin and I stopped before ducking down as the aquatic creature dove back into the water.

We got sprayed by the water and just held still as I heard Vegeta muttering to himself in annoyance, then he sighed before he quickly flew away and we waited for a little bit to make sure that he wasn't coming back but he was gone and we let out a sigh of relief as Krillin sat down.

"Wow...that was a close one! I was pretty sure we weren't gonna make it out of that one...If it hadn't been for that fish, Vegeta would've found us for sure and we both know how that would've ended," Krillin said and I nodded.

"Yeah, let's just head back to Gohan and Bulma before anything else happens so let's keep our energy suppressed and try to stay out of sight," I agreed as Krillin and I stood up.

"They shouldn't be far from here, right?" Krillin wondered.

"No, we should be close," I replied and Krillin sighed.

"Man, I'm already exhausted so I could really use a nap," Krillin admitted and I nodded.

"Well, let's head back then," I said and we started making our way back to Bulma and Gohan.

We had to hop across different landmasses and run this time since Vegeta can now sense our energy without the use of a scouter, which is going to make things complicated this time since he'll be able to detect us if we so much as got into a fight with Frieza or any of his men, though it didn't take long for us to land on one landmass and held out a hand so the kid could take it.

"I feel like...we made a mistake, like we never should've come to Namek in the first place. We did it for my and Gohan's friends the Saiyans killed, but instead of bringing them back like we wanted...now even more people are gonna die," Krillin muttered and my eyes softened as we walked.

"Krillin, people still would've died regardless of us arriving on Namek or not, and if you're talking about us, don't do that because one thing my father taught me is that self-doubt leads to losing hope and losing hope is how we lose when it comes to a battle.

We will bring everyone back, and even though things seem bad now, we're still alive and we'll keep fighting no matter how bad things get," I told him and Krillin looked at me.

"I guess you're right...thanks, Greg," Krillin said and I nodded before seeing the cave up ahead.

"No problem, and besides, we're back so we should go check on Bulma and Gohan," I said and Krillin perked up when he saw the cave.

"Oh yeah, we should make sure they're okay," Krillin agreed before we started walking up to the cave.

"Bulma, Gohan, we're back!" I called out as we approached the entrance to the cave and stopped in front of it.

"Where did they go?" Krillin wondered in confusion.

"That's odd, they wouldn't leave like that," I said and Krillin looked at me.

"Maybe they decided to go further back in the cave," Krillin said before we started to enter the cave.

Krillin called out for Bulma and Gohan as we moved through the cave and I made sure to keep the kid close to me, then we soon came across a house in the back of the cave that had a Capsule Corp logo on it, much to my confusion as we stared at it.

"A capsule house? I'm guessing they're in there," I said and then the front door opened before Gohan and Bulma peered out.

"Greg, Krillin!" Gohan exclaimed joyfully as he came running out, making the Namekian hide around the corner as Krillin and I smiled.

"Thank god, I thought something might've happened to you two out there," Bulma said as she stepped outside and I rubbed the back of my head.

"Yeah, things got a little hairy out there while we were gone but we're okay, though we should head inside since we have a lot to tell you two," I stated just as Bulma glanced behind us and looked puzzled.

"Hey...who's the kid? He looks like a miniature version of Piccolo...he's a Namekian, isn't he?" Bulma inquired and the kid hid while Gohan also looked curious about the little Namekian so I looked back at him.

"It's okay, they're not gonna hurt you," I reassured as Gohan glanced at me.

"So, what happened out there, and who is he?" Gohan asked curiously before Krillin sighed tiredly.

"We'll tell you and Bulma, but first, can we go inside? It's complicated and I'm wiped out," Krillin requested before Bulma started grinning.

"Not just yet! I talked to my dad earlier, and he told me something that'll blow your tiny minds! He said that we don't have to worry about being stuck because Goku is on his way to Namek! Right now, he's somewhere in space six days from here.

See, my dad was able to find the ship that Goku came to Earth in when he was just a baby, then he completely rebuilt it from the ground up, and if that isn't enough, Goku is spending the entire trip training his brains out.

Cool, huh?" Bulma explained while Krillin and I perked up as Gohan grinned.

"Yeah, my dad's coming so we're gonna be okay!" Gohan stated as I started looking happy.

"Really? That's great news!" I exclaimed joyfully before Krillin, Gohan, and Bulma cheered while the Namekian kid looked bewildered by what was going on.

"Nobody trains as hard as Goku does, so this is awesome! We might actually make it out of this!" Krillin yelled and I nodded.

"Yeah, so we have six days until Goku arrives, which means we just have to hold out until then," I pointed out and the others nodded.

After that, we headed inside the house and it took gentle coaching from me and Gohan to have the Namekian kid follow us before Bulma heated up some food for us and set down trays filled with different kinds of food, then most of us started to dig in as Krillin and I explained what happened while we were away and I noticed that the Namekian kid wasn't eating as Krillin glanced at him.

"I know it's not the best food in the world, but if you want to keep your strength up, you have to eat something," Krillin said gently but the kid didn't respond.

"If I'd been through what he's just been through, I wouldn't have much of an appetite, either," Bulma pointed out and I started looking troubled while Krillin's eyes hardened.

"Good point...guess I never thought of it like that," Krillin replied.

"Namekians don't eat food to survive...we don't need anything but water," the kid told us, which was probably the first thing he said since Krillin and I saved him.

"Wow, really? So, what was up with the fields around your village if you and your people don't need food?" I inquired curiously and the kid looked at me.

"The plants you saw are Ajissa saplings," the kid replied.

"Oh, and those are what, exactly?" Krillin asked and the kid went to look down.

"Well...the elder says that a long time ago, Planet Namek was covered with thick beautiful groves of Ajissa trees. They were everywhere, but then...the weather suddenly changed, the Ajissa trees were almost wiped out, and so was Planet Namek.

We found the few Ajissa trees that survived, and now we're trying to grow more of them so we can make Namek beautiful again," the kid explained.

"Hey...I don't think you ever told us your name," Gohan spoke up curiously and the kid trembled slightly as he appeared to be recalling a painful memory, no doubt the massacre of his village.

"Dende...and not to be rude, but would you mind telling me exactly what you're doing here?" Dende questioned, but then I just sensed what appeared to be different life forces that were disappearing at an alarming speed as Gohan and Krillin tensed up.

"You two just felt that too, right?" I inquired and they nodded.

"Yeah, come on," Krillin said before we got out of our seats.

We hurried to the front door and burst outside before running through the cave and heading out, leaving the cave and coming to a stop before we faced the direction of what we were sensing as we were tense, just before Bulma came out of the cave quickly.

"What's going on? We're not about to be attacked again, are we?" Bulma asked.

"No...well...maybe, but that's not it. Energies are dropping off, one by one," Krillin replied as he trembled and Bulma gasped.

"Like...there's a big fight going on...and...the Namekians are losing," Gohan clarified as I heard Dende gasping in horror while I started clenching my fists.

"It's Vegeta...he's attacking a village somewhere and he's...killing people," I said shakingly while anger and fury were starting to rise in me from what that bastard was doing to all those innocent people.

"Him? That monster doesn't care who he hurts, does he?" Bulma questioned in outrage.

"No...and on top of that, he's figured out a way to sense energy without using one of those scouters, which is a problem. We're gonna have to be really careful...lay low, at least for now. Jeez, we still don't even know if Vegeta is working alone or if he's just following orders from that Frieza guy.

Not that it matters because if either of them gets their hands on the dragon balls, nobody is safe!" Krillin stated while Gohan was also trembling from the outrage of what was happening.

"I don't know how we'd go about it, but we need to find one of the dragon balls and hide it somewhere they wouldn't think to look since they can't summon the dragon if they only have six," Bulma suggested but Gohan shook his head.

"We can't do that! If we did, they'd keep looking for the last one and wouldn't stop torturing the Namekians until they found it!" Gohan growled.

"No...my people!" Dende gasped while Krillin fell to his knees.

"It doesn't matter what we do, we can't hold them off forever. It's like...we need Goku's help, but even when he gets here, there's no guarantee he can beat them so this sucks!" Krillin shouted before punching the ground in frustration.

"I should've finished off Vegeta the second I had the chance!" Krillin added angrily.

"Please...I know nothing about you so what are you doing here?" Dende asked and we all looked back at him.

"Tell me, where did you come from, and how do you know so much about the dragon balls? And...please tell me you'll help us save Planet Namek!" Dende begged so I walked over and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"We'll tell you everything we know and then we'll come up with a plan on how to help your people," I vowed and Dende looked grateful.

"Thank you," Dende said and I nodded in response.

After that, we started telling the little Namekian everything we knew about the dragon balls and why we were here as I sensed the last few remaining Namekians in the village die, which made me hate Vegeta even more for his cruelty so the next time I see him, I'll make sure to stop him before he kills any more innocent people.

"Turns out that Kami was actually a Namekian who came to Earth when he was young, maybe about your age. We figured that since he was the one who created the dragon balls on our planet, we might find more on Namek and wish our friends back to life," Krillin said as he finished explaining our reasons as to why we were here.

"If this works the way we hope, the Earth's dragon balls should be restored at the same time as our friends," Bulma added.

"Oh, that pretty much explains everything, and that's how those bad guys found out about the dragon balls, too. You all have to come with me. Hurry, I've got to take you to the grand elder! Please come, the grand elder will know what to do!" Dende yelled and Bulma gasped.

"Who's the grand elder?" Krillin inquired as Bulma looked curious.

"Is he like your king or something?" Bulma asked while I was also curious as to who the grand elder was.

"I don't know what that is, but the grand elder gave birth to all the Namekians. When the weather on Namek suddenly changed, he was the only survivor! He's also the one who started trying to bring the Ajissa trees back!

He takes good care of me and my hundred-and-seven older brothers and sisters," Dende explained while we all gawked at what we heard and I snapped out of it.

"W-Wait, you're telling us that every single Namekian on this planet is related to you? Wow, big family...but, if this grand elder was the sole survivor, how was he able to have children?" I asked in bewilderment.

"Same way as everyone else, he hatched us from eggs that came out of his mouth," Dende replied and we all blinked at that.

"Uh...yeah...that's not strange or anything, so...that means your elder's actually a woman, right? Because you keep saying "he"..." Bulma wondered and Dende looked confused.

"Wo...man? What does "woman" mean?" Dende asked.

"You know, a female...a girl...if the grand elder laid an egg out of her mouth, she must be female. There are two kinds of Namekians, right? Your mother is a girl and your father is a boy," Bulma said and Dende looked completely puzzled.

"Two kinds of...that's...weird," Dende said and I looked at Bulma.

"Um, Bulma, it seems like the Namekians only consist of one gender but their biology is different from humans, which is why they reproduce differently," I told her and Bulma made a face.

"That sounds boring...I don't know, I don't think I could handle being a Namekian...not for long," Bulma muttered until Krillin frowned.

"Look, this is all really fascinating and everything, but why do you want us to come with you to meet your grand elder?" Krillin asked Dende, who looked down shyly.

"Well...when those people attacked our village, they said they'd already collected four of the dragon balls from four other neighboring villages, and...over there...you said a lot of energies just disappeared in that direction, right? That someone had attacked more of my people?" Dende questioned and I tensed up with a dark expression.

"Yeah, it seems that way...maybe someone named Vegeta," I said grimly.

"And it wasn't just a lot of energies, Dende. It was all of them in that direction," Gohan told the little Namekian bitterly, causing Dende to look horrified until he glanced down.

"If so...then I guess...that makes me one of the last Namekians left on the whole planet," Dende whimpered, the poor kid trying hard not to cry.

"This is terrible...we're gonna have to assume that Vegeta found the dragon ball in that village while he was attacking, which means there's only one of them left. This is a long shot, but...does the grand elder have one of the dragon balls?" Krillin asked Dende, who nodded.

"Yes, he does," Dende confirmed and that caused a sense of dread to rise in me.

"Oh no...Frieza can't find it because he doesn't have a scouter but now that Vegeta can sense energy without one, he can. If that monster keeps searching out Namekians, he'll eventually find the grand elder and when he does, he'll steal the seventh dragon ball from him," I said uneasily and Dende started looking alarmed.

"Then we have to go warn the grand elder now before something horrible happens!" Dende yelled before running over to Krillin and grabbing the upper half of his gi, begging, "You've got to come with me! Please, I'm begging you!"

"He's right, you have to go with him...I don't want to think about what it'd be like if Frieza or Vegeta wished for eternal life," Gohan stated before Krillin gently removed Dende's grip from his gi.

"Fine, let's go, but we don't have much time so we have to move fast," Krillin said with a look of determination and Dende smiled.

"Right!" Dende agreed before Krillin looked at me and Gohan.

"I'll go with Dende to see the grand elder...but...I want you two and Bulma to stay here since it's safer that way," Krillin told us and I nodded.

"Good idea, the fewer of us are out there, the harder it will be for Vegeta to detect us but be careful, it's going to be very dangerous out there," I warned just before Krillin and Dende took off into the air and looked down at us.

"We'll be back! Hold down the fort and we'll see you soon!" Krillin said loudly while Gohan waved at him and Dende until they flew away and disappeared once they were far enough away.

"I hope they'll be okay," Bulma said and I looked at her.

"Krillin's a capable fighter so he'll be fine, though I hope he and Dende don't run into Vegeta or Frieza while they're heading to where the grand elder lives since they're too strong for Krillin to take on alone," I replied before we went to head back to the cave, praying that Krillin and Dende will be okay while they're out there.

Chapter Text

I continued to meditate, sitting cross-legged while hovering several inches off the ground as Gohan was busy doing his own training and Bulma was using her dragon radar in the meantime, the blue-haired woman sitting on a boulder while she did that.

"Hmm? Hey Gohan, Greg...come here for a second...take a look at the radar," Bulma told us, making Gohan stop training while I opened my eyes and placed my feet on the ground.

Gohan and I looked at each other before beginning to walk over so that we could look at the radar, and we took a look to see that it was picking up one of the dragon balls but it looked to be on the move from what I could tell.

"One of the dragon balls is on the move...it's headed in our direction!" Bulma informed us and I looked thoughtful.

"Yeah, I wonder who's moving it?" I wondered.

"Um...so, what do you guys think the chances are that's Krillin?" Bulma questioned.

"Pretty good...I think he's found one! They made it to the Grand Elder safe and sound, now he's on his way back here to us!" Gohan replied hopefully and I frowned slightly.

"I don't know, it could be him but there's no way to tell since we're not the only ones searching for the dragon balls. Still, it's great news if that is him," I pointed out logically and the others didn't argue since I had a point, though something on the radar caught Bulma's attention.

"Wait, hold on...there's another one...right there...weird, I didn't notice it until now...huh?" Bulma muttered as she fiddled with the radar, and five of the dragon balls were shown on the radar in one place together while a sixth was a distance away from them.

"These five right here have gotta be the ones that Frieza guy has gathered up...but then there's this one out here all by itself. See?" Bulma added, making me and Gohan gaze at the lone dragon ball that was shown on the radar.

"Hey, you're right, and it's not all that far from us. In fact...it's just over that way, right?" Gohan said before pointing in a direction away from us, and my heart sank when I realized that the dragon ball was in the direction of the location where Vegeta massacred all those Namekians.

"Guys, that's where Vegeta attacked that village and killed all those Namekians," I said grimly and Bulma gasped while Gohan widened his eyes.

"Yeah, but...he's not there anymore..." Gohan trailed off and my eyes narrowed.

"Yeah, you and I would still sense his energy over there if he was," I replied and Bulma perked up.

"I get it now, the dragon ball is obviously still there, which means Vegeta couldn't find it and he's moved on out of frustration!" Bulma told us before Gohan and I nodded.

"Yeah!" Gohan agreed as he smiled.

"He's probably off on the other side of the planet by now, and we're practically next door to the last one!" Bulma stated happily before Gohan and I looked at her.

"Bulma, we're going to need to borrow the dragon radar so that we can go get that dragon ball to make sure Vegeta or Frieza and his men don't find it, okay?" I requested and Bulma nodded.

"You got it. Here, about time we had a little luck," Bulma replied before handing over the radar and Gohan took it.

Gohan and I sent each other a nod before taking off into the air and flying to the village that Vegeta attacked, making sure to keep our power levels low so that the Saiyan prince didn't detect us and my gaze was focused while hoping that we found the dragon ball first.

"Let's see...it should be real close," Gohan muttered after we flew for a while.

Pretty soon, we found the destroyed village Vegeta attacked and came to a stop just above it, and then we took in the devastation and bodies in horror and disbelief. Fuck, I've seen death before but this was horrible.

"My...god," I breathed out, looking at all of the dead bodies of adult and child Namekians.

My hands clenched into fists as the sense of anger and outrage filled me, thinking about how I should've let Krillin kill Vegeta so my act of mercy cost these people their lives and I wasn't going to make that mistake again.

Gohan and I flew down before walking over to two dead Namekians and the half-Saiyan trembled at the carnage that was before us, so I thought about how maybe I should've made him stay behind since no one his age should have to see stuff like this.

"Why? Why did this have to happen?" Gohan wondered, sounding like he was trying not to cry, which made me place a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"Come on, you don't have to see this...see if you can find the dragon ball while I give these people a burial," I said softly while gently leading Gohan away from the two bodies.

"Vegeta...that horrible monster," Gohan said quietly, his voice filled with the same anger and outrage I had.

While Gohan went to find the Dragon Ball, I gathered up the dead and created holes to bury them in with my ki blasts. I put the bodies in the holes, and then I went to cover them up, stepping back and looking at the dirt mounds solemnly.

'I'm sorry, you didn't deserve this,' I thought while I teared up a little, and I let out a shaky sigh.

I sent a silent prayer and hoped that these people were in a better place now as I heard Gohan diving into the lake, and I just looked up at the sky before staring quietly until I heard Gohan surfacing and getting out of the lake.

"Greg, I found the dragon ball!" Gohan called out, snapping me out of my thoughts before I turned and went to meet up with Gohan who had the large orange orb with four stars on it.

"Nice job, we should get out of here before Vegeta comes back or, god forbid, Frieza and his men show up," I said with a smile, and Gohan nodded before we took off from the village and started making our way back to Bulma.

We continued flying for a bit before picking up a huge amount of energy coming from where Bulma was, and there were no words spoken between me and Gohan since we understood that it couldn't be a good sign so we continued flying and hoped that nothing bad would happen.

At a certain point, one of the three large energy signatures just vanished and that indicated that someone died so that couldn't be a good sign, but then another energy signature just left the area where Bulma was and it felt like Vegeta's so he must be done there, though Bulma's energy and the third large energy signature hadn't vanished but Vegeta's energy was heading to where we are and we immediately stopped.

"Whoa, something's headed straight for us, and...it's...powerful!" Gohan gasped in alarm.

"It's Vegeta! We need to hide, now!" I said urgently.

We quickly flew down to a large boulder and went to use it as cover, revealing our power levels in the process but we didn't have a choice since the Saiyan prince was moving far too quickly for us to fly down at a slower speed so he's going to detect us.

We hid against the massive boulder and went to suppress our energy, the two of us tense and feeling Vegeta getting closer before he came to a stop in the sky near us. Gohan and I stayed quiet, trying not to make a sound, and hoped that he would lose interest before leaving.

"Wherever you're hiding, come out now! It's no use trying to pull one over on me! Step out from whatever rock you're cowering behind, or I'll reduce this whole area to rubble!" Vegeta demanded and Gohan trembled a little.

'For fuck's sake, just go away,' I thought tensely.

"What's wrong?! Scared, huh?! So, you still believe you can hide from me, is that it?! Well, we'll just see then!" Vegeta shouted before Gohan and I heard him beginning to power up some kind of ki blast, making Gohan gasp.

'Shit, that bastard's going to level the place!' I thought in alarm.

"This is it, your last chance, and then I fire!" Vegeta yelled while laughing. Gohan squeezed his eyes shut and I was ready to go out there and fight Vegeta so I was about to leave our hiding spot.

"Wait!" Gohan shouted and Vegeta stopped before looking at our hiding place.

Gohan quickly put down the dragon ball and left our hiding place before I could stop him, going out into plain view and Vegeta spotted Gohan while I felt like scolding the kid for taking such a big risk, though I suppose he didn't have a choice so I prayed that Vegeta didn't figure out that I was also here with the dragon ball.

"There, happy now?" Gohan called out while climbing up to the top of the boulder, and Vegeta started laughing in amusement.

"Well, if it isn't Kakarot's brat...quite the surprise, so I can't say I expected that. I suppose you tagged along with the other earthlings, eh? I already had the pleasure of bumping into them," Vegeta said and Gohan gasped while my eyes widened.

'Shit, he found Krillin and Bulma as I thought, but he didn't kill them so I wonder why he spared them when he didn't have to?' I thought while clenching my teeth.

"Oh no! How'd you get your hands...on that?" Gohan questioned in shock and I peered up to see that Vegeta had one of the dragon balls tucked under his arm.

"Oh, this? Just a token of friendship...they were so happy to see me, they gave it to me as a gift," Vegeta remarked, and I narrowed my eyes.

'I doubt Krillin and Bulma handed it over to you willingly, asshole,' I thought.

"You monster, you...you killed my friends...didn't you?" Gohan growled angrily.

"No, but I'm more than happy to go back and do so if that's what you like. As a matter of fact, out of sheer joy at being the proud new owner of all seven dragon balls, I let them live," Vegeta replied smugly.

'That's what you think, dickhead,' I thought darkly.

"So...you've finally got what you came for," Gohan said before Vegeta landed in front of him, startling Gohan while I was ready to get out there and do what I should have done back on Earth.

"So, what's that contraption you've got in your hand there?" Vegeta questioned and Gohan flinched.

"Ah, it's...nothing! It's a clock!" Gohan lied and Vegeta chuckled.

"Just a clock? You mean to tell me that a civilization capable of interstellar flight can't keep time on something smaller than that?" Vegeta questioned and Gohan scoffed.

"Well, maybe we like it that way!" Gohan retorted, and I had to commend him for having the courage to not back down against the Saiyan prince despite what happened on Earth.

"Of course...speaking of interstellar flight, is Kakarot and the fox boy here?" Vegeta asked.

"No, they're not! We came without them since we didn't know that there would be bad guys like you on this planet," Gohan replied, lying about me not being here and Vegeta chuckled before reaching out and Gohan flinched but the Saiyan prince rested a hand on his head and laughed.

"So, I'm a "bad guy", huh? All the same, it's a pity they're not here. You, me, Kakarot...we're special, the last of our kind, in fact...aren't we? Pay attention, I want you to relay a message to him and Gregory for me," Vegeta said.

I saw that he was about to knee him in the gut so I quickly grabbed the dragon ball next to me, appeared next to Vegeta, and slammed my knee into his abdomen before the Saiyan prince could react and he dropped the dragon ball he was holding while stumbling back and gripping his stomach as he gagged.

He didn't see the dragon ball I had with me while I snatched Gohan and flew away as fast as I could before Vegeta could recover, and I didn't sense him following us after a bit but I assumed that he didn't bother to go after us and that was fine with me since fighting Vegeta wasn't a priority right now, not while we had the dragon ball with us so I let go of Gohan and he flew alongside me after that.

"There, I see them," I notified Gohan as we were arriving at the cave, spotting Krillin and Bulma outside as they looked up to see us approaching.

"Krillin!" Gohan called out while we were flying down.

"They're here!" Krillin cheered before Gohan and I landed, jogging over to the others.

"Hey, sorry it took longer than it should but you'll be happy to know that we did find this," I greeted before showing Krillin and Bulma the dragon ball, which made them cheer.

"Whoo-hoo, way to go, guys!" Bulma exclaimed joyfully.

"Yes, are we ever glad to see you guys!" Krillin added before I handed him the dragon ball and he started looking serious.

"Right. Now...there's really no time to explain, but if the four of us don't get out of here, we're gonna be in for some serious trouble," Krillin said before Gohan and I nodded with grim expressions.

"Yeah, we know already. We got stopped by Vegeta on the way back," Gohan replied and Krillin looked dumbfounded.

"Don't worry, we made sure to keep the dragon ball hidden from him, so he didn't know that we had it," I reassured the bald monk, who stared at me and Gohan in disbelief.

"I think that might make you guys the luckiest people alive," Krillin admitted before Bulma came over with an impatient growl.

"Yeah, yeah, that's great but we can talk when we're out of here," Bulma pointed out and I nodded in agreement.

"Right, we need to get out of here fast because Vegeta is not going to be happy once he finds out that Gohan and I took the dragon ball from the village he destroyed," I stated before getting my things and we all went to leave the area.

We traveled a really good distance away from the cave while Gohan, Krillin, and I kept our power levels suppressed so that Vegeta wouldn't find us, and then we managed to find a crevasse that was in a mountain on an island before taking shelter in it since it was a pretty good hiding place.

"See anything, Gohan?" I inquired while Gohan was above and peering out to see if Vegeta or Frieza and his men were nearby.

"Nothing, it's pretty well hidden, so I think this outta work," Gohan replied while looking down at the rest of us and Bulma looked less than happy.

"You guys are completely out of your minds if you think I'm gonna play house in a dump like this!" Bulma snapped irritably.

"Come on, Bulma. Beggers can't be choosers, right? Try to be reasonable, we're laying low here, not giving tours," Krillin reasoned.

"Dad will be here soon; you can tough it out until then. It'll be fun!" Gohan added cheerfully.

"Oh yeah, sure, it'll be a barrel of monkeys! A lady like me sharing a space narrower than a circuit board with a few roughnecks...oh and a non-existent bathroom!" Bulma growled before groaning and I sweatdropped.

"Bulma, we really don't have a choice here since Vegeta is probably on a warpath trying to find us and we need to remember that Frieza and his men are also looking for the dragon balls, so I think you can spare yourself some discomfort if you want to stay alive," I pointed out in exasperation.

"He has a point, and think of it like this, you'll have the place to yourself. See, uh, my plan is to take Gohan and Greg with me back to where the Grand Elder lives. It's actually gonna take us a while to get there," Krillin added, making me and Gohan look at him with quizzical looks.

"Huh? Why do Greg and I have to go?" Gohan wondered and Bulma looked outraged.

"Ugh, this was your plan? To ditch me? So, now I've got to stay in this hole by myself?" Bulma complained but Krillin smiled reassuringly.

"Trust me on this one, I know what I'm doing. Sure, it'll suck for you to have to stay here alone, but once I've taken Gohan and Greg to the Grand Elder, they might just be able to beat Vegeta together easily," Krillin said and chuckled while the rest of us stared at him.

"You know, now that I think about it, your power shot up a little since we last saw each other so I'm guessing the Grand Elder had something to do with it, right?" I questioned, beginning to be interested in what Krillin might have in mind.

"Oh, you'll see," Krillin said cryptically.

In the end, it was agreed that Gohan and I would go with Krillin so the three of us left after Bulma told us to be careful and we started flying to the Grand Elder's place while hearing explosions going off in the distance, and I don't know what was going on but it sounded like Vegeta or even Frieza and his men might be stirring up trouble somewhere.

"At this speed, it's gonna take us almost twice as long to get there as I thought it would, but if we try to boost our power levels up any more, Vegeta will sense it and be able to get the drop on us. I don't know how it's possible, but he's gotten even stronger since the last time we saw him.

As it stands right now, it's possible that all three of us might not be able to take him down," Krillin said grimly as Gohan and I looked at him.

"Uh...well, yeah...but that's been the case since he first came to Earth. Are you sure the Grand Elder's going to be able to even the odds? I just don't think I'm all that strong," Gohan said doubtfully and Krillin smiled.

"Look at how much more powerful he made me, and I'm not even a Saiyan. We get him to bring out the hidden power you and Greg have, and we're talking about a serious chance to give Vegeta a run for his money.

Worth a shot, right?" Krillin explained and I looked thoughtful.

"It wouldn't hurt, and Vegeta has grown more powerful since we last saw him so this might be our only chance to stop him," I agreed, and with that said, we continued making our way to the Grand Elder's place while keeping an eye out for Vegeta or Frieza's men.

Chapter Text

'Okay, not seeing anyone so far,' I thought after checking to make sure we hadn't been noticed yet.

After flying for a bit, the three of us decided to stop momentarily to eat something since we were getting hungry so Krillin and I took out a couple of sandwiches from our bags, handing one to Gohan and we ate while I kept my eyes open for any signs of Vegeta or Frieza and his men until Gohan sighed.

"It feels like we've been flying forever...how much farther do we have to go?" Gohan wondered as Krillin finished his sandwich, just before he started looking thoughtful.

"Well...I'd say we're just about halfway there...the Grand Elder's not doing well, so I sure hope he can hold out," Krillin replied and I frowned.

"I'm not sure we'll be able to make it in time at the speed we're going because if you're right, then the Grand Elder might not have a lot of time left," I pointed out before Krillin and I went to get our bags.

"Only one thing to do...we're going to have to risk picking up the pace quite a bit. I think we're far enough out now that Vegeta may not notice the spike in our power levels," Krillin stated as we all stood up.

"I say we go for it, he'll have his hands full once my dad gets here, which should be really soon," Gohan agreed before I nodded.

"It's a gamble, but we might not have any other choice so let's just hope Vegeta doesn't sense us," I said and Krillin started looking determined.

"That settles it, then. Let's ratchet ourselves up to full power!" Krillin declared.

"Yeah!" Gohan replied before we powered up and took off into the air.

We started flying to the Grand Elder's place much faster than before but I made sure to keep my eyes and ears open just in case because even though it's possible that Vegeta might not sense us, I'd rather we didn't take any chances right now.

"At this rate, we ought to reach the Grand Elder's place in about an hour or so!" Krillin shouted while we were flying to the Grand Elder's place, and Gohan and I nodded in response.

We flew as fast as we could across the planet, passing by landmasses and clouds while fully focused on getting to our destination and I still kept an eye out for Vegeta or Frieza's men in the meantime as we kept on the move for the better part of an hour.

"Hang in there, guys! The Grand Elder's place is up ahead; we'll be there soon!" Krillin notified me and Gohan, making us send him nods.

"Right!" Gohan replied.

"Got it!" I added as we kept flying, passing by more landmasses until we started approaching a pillar-like mountain that was in the distance and Krillin perked up.

"Gohan, Greg, it's straight ahead!" Krillin informed us and we looked at him.

"Yeah? That's it over there?" I questioned and Krillin nodded.

"Yeah, that strange-looking mountain is where we need to go!" Krillin confirmed and I smiled while Gohan started laughing joyfully.

"Thank god, we're almost there!" I exclaimed in relief but I suddenly sensed something, just before the three of us immediately stopped and turned around to look behind us.

"No, wait! There's a huge power level coming up right behind us!" Krillin told us, then Gohan started trembling while I sensed that the large energy belonged to Vegeta.

"Dammit, it's Vegeta! Crap, I was afraid of that! Krillin, I hate to ask you this, but you're going to need to stall him long enough for me and Gohan to finish things up at the Grand Elder's place," I said and Krillin nodded nervously while removing his backpack.

"I know, just go get stronger," Krillin replied and Gohan sent us a look of shock.

"But Greg, Krillin-" Gohan tried to protest but I sent him a tense look.

"Don't argue, Gohan. We don't have a choice, now let's hurry," I stated firmly, and Gohan hesitated for a moment before narrowing his eyes and nodded.

"Okay!" Gohan said and I looked at Krillin.

"If you need to, just run and don't worry about us," I told him before Gohan and I continued flying toward the Grand Elder's place.

We kept flying while I prayed that Krillin would be okay since Vegeta was a lot stronger than him, so he might have no choice but to run if the Saiyan prince decided to attack him but Gohan and I arrived at the Grand Elder's home that was on top of the mountain.

Dende came out to greet us with a smile and an adult Namekian stepped out, who is called Nail and Gohan and I explained the situation before being allowed inside to meet with the Grand Elder, then I saw an elderly Namekian sitting in a chair as he looked ancient.

He was named Guru and he knew why we were here, that he could help us get the strength we needed to stop Vegeta and Frieza and his men so he had us step forward and Gohan and I approached him before standing next to him, just before he placed a hand on Gohan's head and there was a moment of silence until the ancient Namekian looked surprised.

"This is incredible," Guru muttered before he started coughing, which concerned me since he didn't sound well.

"Such reserves of strength the child has locked within. You are an earthling, are you not?" Guru asked curiously.

"No disrespect, sir...but if you could hurry up, that'd be great-" Gohan started to say urgently and immediately stopped, just as I sensed Vegeta coming this way.

"He has come, Grand Elder," Nail informed the elder Namekian and I tensed.

"Crap, looks like Krillin wasn't able to stall Vegeta so we need to do this quickly," I stated and Guru nodded.

Nail went to step outside to prevent Vegeta from coming inside but I doubt he would be able to do much, though Guru went to unlock Gohan's hidden power and my eyes widened when I felt his energy go through the roof as the half-Saiyan was taken off guard by it and gasped.

'Holy shit, this kid has that much energy in him?! Yeah, I'd say that he has more of a chance of fighting Vegeta now,' I thought in disbelief just as Guru took his hand off Gohan's head and let out a deep breath.

It was my turn so Guru went to place his hand on my head and seemed to be searching for something before letting out a gasp of shock, looking down at me in astonishment and awe as I wondered what caused the reaction.

"I see...such incredible power lurking within you but I suppose it is expected, considering who your father is," Guru said and my eyes widened.

"You know about my father? How?" I asked and the elder Namekian chuckled warmly.

"I looked through your memories to see what your intentions were and you have a kind heart, child," Guru said before he started to unlock my hidden power.

I gasped as I felt my regular ki shot up considerably and was in shock and disbelief that I had that much inside me, so I was definitely stronger than Vegeta now and that meant we all had a fighting chance against him now.

"Wow, I feel great! Thank you, this will really help," I said gratefully and Guru nodded with a smile, the elder Namekian removing his hand from my head just before we heard Vegeta shouting outside.

"Then let today be the day we settle our score! Come on out here! Fight me, cowards!" Vegeta demanded.

Gohan and I sent each other nods before heading to the exit and we went to step outside, facing Vegeta with stern glares as Gohan got ready and I rolled my shoulders in preparation to fight the Saiyan prince, just before Vegeta's eyes widened in shock once he looked at Gohan.

"What?! I-It's you...what the hell's going on? What were you and Gregory up to in there? Why did your power levels suddenly shoot up?" Vegeta wondered as he looked taken off guard, but then he started laughing and that made the rest of us look bewildered while Nail still looked stoic.

"So...you two think after whatever trick you pulled in there, you're strong enough to lock horns with me? Really? Trust me, you two are still light-years away from being able to tangle with someone who knows how to fight," Vegeta boasted arrogantly and I scoffed.

"Oh yeah? Are you sure the fight back on Earth didn't knock a few screws loose?" I taunted just before Nail stepped forward.

"Stepping up?" Vegeta questioned, smirking at the Namekian and there was a tense silence just before Dende stepped outside.

"Wait, please! The Grand Elder says there's something really, really powerful that's about to land on the planet!" Dende shouted, making all of us look at him.

"Grand Elder? Who in the hell is that?" Vegeta questioned until I suddenly sensed something crazy strong approaching the planet and I looked up.

"Whoa, hold on, I think I sense what he's talking about," I stated and Krillin nodded.

"Yeah, me too," Krillin agreed and Gohan also looked up with wide eyes.

"Wow...he wasn't kidding, they are strong," Gohan gasped and Krillin started grinning.

"Yeah, and you know what, we might be in luck because who else can it be but Goku?" Krillin pointed out excitedly.

"What?!" Vegeta exclaimed before quickly looking up at the sky.

"Well...I don't know...I mean, it feels like there's more than one," Gohan said in uncertainty and I glanced at him.

"You sense it too? Yeah, it's a small group from what I can tell, all of them powerful so that can't be a good sign," I stated and Vegeta's eyes widened in horror.

"No, it...it can't...one...two...three...four...five...it...it is them! Frieza summoned the Ginyu Force to this ball of dirt?! Dammit!" Vegeta shouted.

The fear in his voice was highly concerning because if whoever this Ginyu Force had Vegeta terrified, then we could be in trouble as the Saiyan prince started running over to Gohan and grabbed him by his gi, lifting him with one hand since the Saiyan prince had the one-star Namekian dragon tucked under his arm.

"Look, I don't have time to play with you little shits; hand over the dragon ball!" Vegeta demanded before I immediately grabbed his wrist and squeezed tightly to make him let go, causing a shout of pain from him and I stopped grabbing his wrist so he shook his hand.

"Touch him again, and I'll make you regret it. We're not handing anything over to you," I said menacingly and Vegeta glared at me.

"I'll make a deal with you, give back the dragon ball and I promise I won't lay a finger on you and your friends! Things are about to turn very ugly for all of us unless we act right now!" Vegeta yelled frantically.

"As if we'd be dumb enough to fall for that! You want us to take your word for it? Why should we trust someone like you?" Krillin growled and Vegeta turned to him with a look of frustration.

"Alright, listen up, I'll explain this once. Imagine someone as strong as I've become since our first meeting...wait, no...no...someone even stronger! Now, imagine that there are five of these monsters, five with scouters that'll hone in on us from halfway across the planet and who aren't here to make friends!" Vegeta explained urgently, making Krillin, Gohan, and I widen our eyes.

"You...you're just making all of this up!" Krillin said and Vegeta trembled.

"Idiot, can't you sense their power?! This is the only course open to us! I'm telling you, our only hope for beating the Ginyu Force is for me to become immortal!" Vegeta retorted.

"You really expect us to let you wish for immortality, all so you can create havoc across the entire universe later?! We're not that stupid, Vegeta!" I stated with a glare.

"He may actually be telling the truth. I can sense it...whoever they are, there are five and they're hostile," Nail spoke up and my blood ran cold at the thought of this group being more powerful than Vegeta and not friendly at all.

"Fine then...why not make Gohan or even Greg immortal?" Krillin questioned and Vegeta scoffed.

"Are you kidding? The boy has no tactical experience, so we might as well appoint a ladybug to defend us! Also, I wouldn't lower myself enough to make the fox boy immortal either!" Vegeta refused and Krillin looked conflicted.

"If we do this...then we...we'll waste the one wish we came here for!" Krillin groaned.

"You get more than one. The dragon balls will grant you three so, with two to spare, surely you can all achieve what you came here for," Nail spoke up and we all looked at him.

"Wow, that...that kind of changes everything," Gohan said with a look of surprise.

"So...we get three..." Krillin mumbled and Vegeta growled in frustration.

"Oh, come on, already!" Vegeta shouted before running over to grab Krillin by his gi.

"Great, so we get three wishes instead of one! The longer you stand there in awe, the less time we have to act!" Vegeta added before Krillin grabbed his hand that was gripping his gi.

"Wait, let's be absolutely clear...the dragon balls here, they'll actually grant us a total of three wishes?" Krillin asked Nail, who nodded.

"Indeed," Nail replied and Krillin seemed to consider something before sighing.

"Alright then," Krillin muttered reluctantly and Vegeta let him go.

"Come on, but you've gotta keep your promise about never laying a finger on us!" Krillin continued and my eyes widened in shock at his words.

"Krillin, what are you doing?! Have you gone nuts?! Do I need to remind you what this guy did on Earth and that Namekian village earlier?!" I exclaimed in disbelief.

"We don't have a choice right now, Greg! If Vegeta is right, then we might have to let him wish for immortality if we want to have a fighting chance!" Krillin replied and I grimaced.

"But, Vegeta of all people? I really don't like this, Krillin," I stated.

"Greg, we might not have a choice," Gohan reasoned and I clenched my fists because as much as I hated it, the others might be right about this.

"Dammit, fine," I growled reluctantly before sending a dark look at Vegeta.

"Let's make one thing clear: during our fight back on Earth, I wasn't even using my full power at the time, so if you try anything, then I will personally vaporize you from the face of this planet," I threatened. The others looked stunned to hear that, but Krillin, Gohan, and Vegeta took off into the air.

"Shit, this better not come back to bite us in the ass later," I muttered before following the others, catching up to them and we flew together for a bit until I sensed that the strong power levels had landed on Namek.

"How much farther?! The Ginyu Force just landed!" Vegeta questioned impatiently and Krillin glanced at him momentarily but didn't respond while I hoped that he, Gohan, and I wouldn't regret this.

We continued flying as quickly as we could and made a short stop at where Bulma was to get the last dragon ball, and the blue-haired woman was not happy at all that we were just showing up and then leaving her by herself again without any warning.

We ignored her while it hadn't hit her yet that Vegeta was with the three of us, but we took off and started making our way to where Vegeta had hidden the other dragon balls after stealing them from Frieza while I sensed that the Ginyu Force was on the move.

"They're gaining...hurry, there's no time!" Vegeta told us urgently as he was leading the way.

While I was still greatly reluctant to ally myself with a mass murderer, I have concluded that we might not have any other choice in the matter because whoever the Ginyu Force was, they were pretty powerful and they even had Vegeta scared of them.

Anyone hostile who could make even Vegeta scared was a potential problem for all of us so I hesitantly decided to agree with this alliance but once this alliance was over, Vegeta would become an even bigger problem than before because of the immortality he would wish for.

Regardless, we still had a group of powerful enemies to deal with for now so I'll deal with Vegeta later once we were done dealing with the Ginyu Force, though I was shaken out of my thoughts when Vegeta notified us that we had arrived at where the dragon balls were.

We flew down at a large landmass and descended quickly, landing on the ground and starting to run to where the rest of the dragon balls were as Vegeta was laughing at the thought of finally making his wish, but then a group of aliens suddenly landed in front of the crevice to block our path.

Our eyes widened from how fast they got here as we skidded to a stop, and I could see that the aliens were a short green pudgy man with an extra pair of eyes, a large muscular male human with red hair, a tall blue man with red eyes, a red-skinned man with long white hair, and a purple man with horns on his head as the group had on the same armor Frieza's men wore but with an insignia on it.

"Hello, Vegeta," the purple alien greeted with a smirk, and a couple of members of the Ginyu Force gave out their own greetings before the group laughed as Vegeta trembled.

"Dammit...a few more steps and we were there!" Vegeta growled under his breath in frustration.

"I don't suppose that would be a dragon ball you're holding there," the purple alien remarked while the man with red hair looked back at the crevice.

"And lookie here, we got five more just like it," the man added and the purple alien chuckled sinisterly.

"Seems we've made quite the score, so Frieza should be pleased. The idea is to collect seven of these things, is that right? So, we've got five and you've got two. I'm no mathematician, but I'd say that adds up nicely," the purple alien said smugly and the Ginyu Force started laughing.

"You are a genius," the red-haired man remarked wryly as I tensed up.

'Dammit, Vegeta might be right...shit, as much as I hate to admit it, we're going to need to work together on this one since these guys are powerful enough that not even the powerups Gohan and Krillin went through would be enough against these assholes.

That purple alien in the front, he's also stronger than those other guys so this is going to be far from easy,' I thought with a tense glare before Vegeta growled.

"What, you think I'm just going to hand this over?! Forget it, you bastard!" Vegeta shouted defiantly just as the short green alien approached, causing Vegeta to glare at him.

"Stay back, I can't handle your stench," Vegeta insulted with a smirk and the green alien started growling irritably.

"Why you-" the green alien started to shout as he went to lunge at Vegeta, only for the red-haired man to stop him by grabbing his head.

"Don't try and get greedy on us, Guldo. I don't think we ever decided this was your kill now, did we?" the man suggested with a grin, letting go of Guldo who looked up at him before scoffing.

"Look, Vegeta, just give us the ball. We're still gonna kill you, no matter what you do, so how about it? Be a sport," the purple alien said and Vegeta chuckled.

"Question...these fancy new scouters of yours, they aren't equipped to track dragon balls, are they?" Vegeta questioned and the purple alien smirked.

"What if they're not?" the purple alien remarked.

"Then you lose!" Vegeta shouted before doing a jump.

He suddenly threw the dragon ball in the opposite direction and it rocketed away at a high rate of speed, disappearing in the blink of an eye but then the blue alien went after it and moved so fast that I almost missed him leaving, just before he suddenly reappeared with the dragon ball in his hand.

'Holy crap, he's fast,' I thought with wide eyes.

"Welcome back," the purple alien said.

"Miss me?" the blue alien joked just as Vegeta and the others stared in shock, making the Ginyu Force laugh at our reactions.

"H-How can anyone...be that fast?" Gohan stuttered while trembling.

"I suppose you thought you were being clever? I guess you forgot...when it comes to raw speed, Burter is the fastest in the universe," the purple alien told Vegeta while Burter puffed his chest out arrogantly.

'So, that one's name is Burter...going to have to be careful around him since his speed will be an issue,' I thought with narrowed eyes.

"Now then, the other one," the purple alien said, and Vegeta quickly looked at Krillin.

"Destroy it!" Vegeta shouted.

Krillin flinched but then he went to smash the dragon ball to pieces with his fist, but the dragon ball suddenly disappeared and we were taken off guard by that as I widened my eyes in complete bewilderment.

"Wait, where'd it go?" Gohan wondered just as I looked back at the Ginyu Force and saw the last dragon ball in Guldo's hands.

'Wha...how the fuck did he do that?!' I thought in disbelief.

"So, it seems the rumors are true after all," Vegeta growled.

"What are you talking about? What rumors?" Krillin inquired in confusion and Vegeta glowered at Guldo.

"That fat little blob...somehow, he has the power to slow down or stop time at will!" Vegeta explained while Guldo laughed and I tensed up.

"Dammit, in that case, he's going to be a problem," I said grimly while Krillin and Gohan looked stunned.

"But...that's impossible," Krillin whimpered.

"Don't be so sure there, buddy," Guldo mocked before the purple alien smirked.

"Now that we've got that business out of the way, I say it's time we had some fun. Let's show our friends here a good time," the purple alien declared.

"And when he says 'a good time', he doesn't mean that we're gonna play dress-up and braid each other's hair...uh-uh...he means we're gonna murder you!" the red alien added, having some kind of Australian accent.

"Did you really need to explain that?!" the purple alien snapped as Krillin glanced at the rest of us uneasily.

"So, what now? Are we really gonna fight these guys?" Krillin wondered and Vegeta scowled.

"I think you've already seen that we can't outrun them, so it's best that we all stand together. From what I saw of your abilities on Earth, I doubt you and Kakarot's kid will be worth much and maybe Gregory could stand a chance against them.

Still, it's better than nothing," Vegeta replied and I sent him a glance.

"Nice to know that you have so much faith in me, Vegeta," I remarked wryly while I saw the Ginyu Force talking to each other, and Vegeta scoffed.

"Don't be absurd, this alliance is only temporary so once this is over and Kakarot shows up, we will finish what we started back on Earth," Vegeta stated and I chuckled.

"Fine by me, you still have a lot to answer for at the end of the day," I said with a smirk, just before most of the members of the Ginyu Force started complaining about something the purple alien said to them.

"Fine, fair is fair. In that case, I'll take the dragon balls back to Lord Frieza and explain the situation while you boys sort the rest out on your own," the purple alien offered, and the other members of the Ginyu Force started cheering.

"Who's the greatest captain in the universe?!" the purple alien shouted happily.

"You! Ginyu rules!" the other Ginyu Force members cheered.

"Okay, then the winner will get Vegeta, and for second place..." Guldo trailed off before Ginyu and his team looked at me, Gohan, and Krillin.

"The rest...make them a set," the red-haired man finished, causing Gohan and Krillin to start trembling while my eyes narrowed.

Suddenly, for some bizarre reason, Ginyu's team started playing rock, paper, scissors of all things and while that bewildered me, I still didn't let my guard down despite their strange antics since they were still dangerous people we had to deal with.

"Are you sure we shouldn't try to run away now?" Gohan wondered and I glanced at him.

"Even if we were to run, I doubt we would get very far since the short green one would use his time-stopping abilities on us, and the blue guy would easily catch up to us," I pointed out as Ginyu's men kept playing until the red-haired man won.

"Yeah, I win! I get Vegeta!" the red-haired man exclaimed while raising his fists victoriously while the others looked dismayed.

"And I get the runts and the one with the sword," Guldo grumbled, looking like he was pouting as Ginyu looked at him.

"Oh well, it's better than nothing though, right?" Ginyu spoke up while the red-haired man leaned down.

"Tell you what, Guldo. Once I've had my fun, you can finish them off," the red-haired man offered and Guldo laughed as Ginyu looked back at the five remaining dragon balls, just before they hovered up and gently flew over to him until Ginyu took the last two dragon balls.

"Now, if you'll excuse me, Lord Frieza has a date with immortality," Ginyu declared before flying away, leaving me, Gohan, Krillin, and Vegeta to deal with the other members of the Ginyu Force.

"No, I won't let you have them!" Gohan growled as he got ready to blast him but I grabbed his shoulder to stop him.

"Gohan, there's no point so don't waste your energy," I stated and Vegeta glanced at the half-Saiyan.

"Look, let him go for now and focus on beating these goons. We have to get past them before anything else," Vegeta added and Gohan started looking frustrated.

"I know it's frustrating, but we have bigger problems to deal with right now so we'll go after him later," I said and Gohan sighed in resignation as Vegeta looked at Krillin.

"You, come here a minute," Vegeta said and Krillin walked over.

"Okay, Vegeta, you know those guys better than we do so what should we be expecting when fighting the green short one?" I asked, looking to the Saiyan prince for advice since he was more familiar with the Ginyu Force and should have knowledge of possible weaknesses we could use to come up with a good strategy.

"Don't let Guldo's ridiculous looks fool you, he lacks power but his psychic abilities will make him dangerous, so keep your guard up," Vegeta told us and Krillin nodded.

"Right," Krillin replied.

"Now, is it true that you came to this planet without Kakarot?" Vegeta inquired and I nodded.

"Yeah, it's just us but he'll be here so if my math is right, he should be here in a few minutes at least," I said and Vegeta scowled.

"A few minutes isn't good enough because we need him here now! As much as I can't stand him and you, having you two here together would help even the odds considerably," Vegeta told me just as Guldo and the red-haired man finished doing a few stretches.

Once they were done, they started approaching us menacingly with sinister smiles and we all started to get ready to defend ourselves as we took up combat stances, just before the two Ginyu Force members came to a stop.

"So, who's first? Here, Guldo, why don't you take the honors?" the red-haired man offered and Guldo looked disgruntled.

"Right...you just want me to clear out the runts and the guy with the sword so the big boys can play...some honor. Thanks, buddy," Guldo grumbled.

"Quit messing around and let's get this over with!" Vegeta snapped just as Krillin, Gohan, and I jogged in front of him.

"Hey, Gohan, you remember that image training we did back on the spaceship?" Krillin suggested and Gohan nodded.

"Yeah...I'm with you and Greg," Gohan replied while Guldo sighed.

"Aww, well...this should at least be fun for a second or two, I guess," Guldo muttered before stepping forward.

"Okay, ready?" Krillin questioned, and Gohan and I nodded.

"Alright, let's fire it up," I declared before the three of us started powering up.

Guldo started looking taken aback while the scouters from the other Ginyu Force members were attempting to scan how strong we were, then Gohan and Krillin leaped up into the sky in different directions and I appeared behind Guldo.

The three of us started charging up different energy attacks and went to blast him but he took in a deep breath and suddenly disappeared just as our attacks collided into the ground and caused a large explosion.

While that happened, Gohan and Krillin disappeared and started flying fast to where Guldo might be as I sensed his energy and saw him standing nearby before kicking off the ground and coming at him just as he was about to use his time-stopping abilities.

"Not this time!" I growled as I appeared right in front of him after putting on more speed.

I launched a knee right into his abdomen and it broke his concentration, just before I grabbed him by the arm and started spinning him around as he shouted in alarm, then I threw him into the sky and took off after him while Krillin and Gohan followed.

Guldo came to a stop and I appeared before him with my sword out, causing his eyes to widen in terror until I sliced right through him and he split into two halves before I sliced him up into smaller bloody chunks.

Gohan and Krillin appeared just as I twirled my sword around to hold it in a reverse grip and all three of us vaporized what was left of Guldo with combined energy blasts that caused an explosion, then we flew back down to rejoin Vegeta who looked shocked by how fast we took care of Guldo while I twirled my sword and went to holster it.

"Well, that's one problem taken care of," I remarked and Vegeta regained his focus.

"Indeed, but this isn't over yet and we won't get lucky a second time," Vegeta stated just as we looked at the remaining three members of the Ginyu Force who looked stunned and outraged by Guldo's death.

"What the hell? You seeing this?! Damn, Guldo went and got himself killed!" the red alien shouted in disbelief.

"Shit...this is bad!" Burter said while looking agitated.

"Yeah, right, without Guldo...that means our trademark Ginyu Force fighting pose is gonna be all out of whack!" the red-haired man groaned and I was taken aback by that.

'Wait, they don't even care that their own teammate is dead?! Jesus, these assholes have no empathy whatsoever!' I thought in disbelief just as the red-haired man, Burter, and the red alien started doing strange poses while shouting their names.

Well, at least I now know that the red-haired man is named Recoome and the red alien is called Jeice but I was sweatdropping at their odd antics as Burter and Jeice were doing rock, paper, scissors to decide who was going to fight me, Gohan, and Krillin next.

"Crazy...what's with these guys? It's all just one big game to them," Gohan wondered.

"Yeah, I think that's the part that scares me most of all," Krillin admitted and I started looking grim.

"It goes to show just how much these guys are monsters who enjoy killing innocents," I agreed while Vegeta started showing a tense scowl.

"I have a feeling the real hell is about to begin," Vegeta growled as we waited to see who would fight me, Krillin, and Gohan next, the tension almost suffocating at this point while the wait felt almost unbearable more than anything.

Chapter Text

The was a quiet tension as we kept staring at Recoome, Burter, and Jeice as they were now finished with their game of rock, paper, scissors, now it was Recoome's turn to fight us as the large man was standing with his arms crossed and smirking, chuckling sinisterly.

Finally, Recoome started approaching, and Vegeta growled while Krillin and Gohan were tense. In the meantime, I was busy studying our next opponent for any weaknesses, and what I could tell was that he was still stronger than Vegeta and the others.

Thankfully, I was stronger than him and maybe Burter and Jeice, though I can't let my guard down since who knows what techniques those three have since they might be capable of giving us a hard time if we were to get too confident.

"My turn, Vegeta...what do you say? Let's do this thing, and your little friends can play, too. Come at me all at once if you want, I don't care. Those cheap tricks you used on Guldo aren't gonna work on me," Recoome stated with a grin.

"Hey, easy Racoome! Don't go killing them all off yourself! We get the two runts, and the one with the sword, remember?!" Jeice shouted.

"Jerk!" Krillin growled.

"I hate these guys!" Gohan snarled while I was scowling.

"I know how you guys feel, but stay focused because getting angry will cause us to make a mistake," I pointed out logically, even though I was tense at the callousness the three Ginyu Force members were displaying.

"Now, you...feel the power...of...Recoome!" Recoome declared while striking up another bizarre pose.

Vegeta growled before powering up as he yelled, a white aura flaring up as the ground shook from the force of his energy coming out intensely, just before dirt was kicked up, and that made me shield my face with my arms while Gohan and Krillin did the same thing.

Suddenly, Vegeta kicked off toward Recoome at a high rate of speed, and the large man wasn't even given a chance to react as Vegeta's fist slammed into his face, knocking his scouter off and sending him flying as Vegeta flew up and landed behind Recoome.

Vegeta charged at Recoome with his fists raised and slammed him into the ground hard, kicking up dust as Vegeta flew up into the air and dove down at Recoome before smashing his knees into the large man's chest, making me cringe since that looked painful as hell.

Vegeta wasn't done yet as he grabbed one of Recoome's legs and started spinning him around before throwing him at a mountain, as Jeice and Burter didn't look too worried about the pummeling their teammate was getting, and Recoome yelled as he shot toward the mountain and smashed into it.

Finally, Vegeta snarled as he started charging up a powerful energy attack and fired a large blast of energy at the mountain, forcing Krillin and Gohan to dive to the ground, and my eyes widened until I immediately raised my arms to block what was coming next.

A massive explosion erupted, and I started getting pelted by dirt and other debris as Vegeta poured more energy into the attack before Jeice and Burter quickly took cover, and it didn't take long until it was over, so I lowered my arms and started staring at where the mountain used to be.

"Holy shit..." I muttered in disbelief while Vegeta was breathing heavily, just before Gohan and Krillin sat up.

"He...he did it...wow, that wasn't even a contest...it's scary how strong Vegeta's gotten. He totally blew that guy away!" Krillin said with a look of shock, but I was tense when I still sensed Recoome's energy.

"No, it's not over yet," I stated while Gohan trembled, no doubt sensing it as well.

"He's right...there, you feel that? That power...it's him, he's alive!" Gohan gasped before Krillin widened his eyes in alarm.

"No, that's crazy...he couldn't be, right?" Krillin wondered in disbelief as the cloud of dust cleared up, revealing Recoome, who was still alive, but his armor was gone, and he only had on a torn black spandex suit and his white gloves and boots, while he looked dirty.

"Hi!" Recoome greeted while laughing, and my expression turned grim.

"Yeah, this isn't going to be easy," I admitted as Gohan and Krillin were trembling, all the while Vegeta looked frustrated that his attack didn't do much.

"Whoa...no way!" Krillin whimpered.

"And he's laughing?! You mean, he took all of that and...and it...didn't even faze him?!" Gohan exclaimed in horror while Recoome smirked.

"Alright, good warm up! Now, let's go! So, you ready to play for real, Vegeta?" Recoome questioned with a grin.

Vegeta tensed as Recoome got ready and shot at Vegeta at a shocking rate of speed, taking the Saiyan prince off guard, and he got a knee to the face before Vegeta was sent flying, and I recoiled at how fast that all happened.

"No, Vegeta!" Gohan screamed in horror.

Vegeta managed to recover and used a rock as momentum to upright himself, landing on the ground before flying at Recoome, who blinked at the sudden recovery before he started blocking and dodging punches and kicks Vegeta was throwing at him.

Suddenly, Recoome slammed an elbow into Vegeta's head, and the Saiyan prince was sent to the ground hard, then Recoome came at him with a fist raised and Vegeta got out of the way in time, prompting Recoome to chase after him.

Vegeta charged up an energy attack and threw it at Recoome, only the large man dodged it and appeared behind Vegeta to kick him into the water before Recoome started laughing, and I was watching to study how he moved, his attacks, and his speed during all of this.

Vegeta launched himself out of the water and came at Recoome like a cannonball, slamming right into the large man's abdomen and Recoome groaned loudly from the devastating hit as Vegeta stopped with them both hovering in the air.

Recoome stopped groaning and grinned before grabbing Vegeta and lifting him above his head while the Saiyan prince flailed his legs in alarm, then Recoome flew down toward the ground at an alarming amount of speed while Vegeta screamed.

After that, Vegeta was smashed into the ground hard, with dirt being kicked up, and Vegeta looking halfway buried in a crater, so that had to hurt as Recoome snickered at the Saiyan prince's misfortune.

"Hey there, Vegeta, you still with me?" Recoome questioned before grabbing Vegeta's leg and pulling him out of the ground, the Saiyan prince looking worse for wear.

"You haven't gone and kicked the bucket on me, have you?" Recoome asked before laughing, just as Vegeta went to blast Recoome in the face.

The large man was thrown back, and he let Vegeta go, then he fell onto his back and groaned from the hit, while Vegeta hit the crater with a grunt before Vegeta struggled to get up as Recoome was motionless.

"Is it over?" Krillin wondered nervously while my eyes were hard.

"No, it's not," I said just as Recoome went to get back up.

"Oh no," Gohan whimpered while Recoome was grinning.

"Now you're fighting dirty, just the way I like it. If you've got any more moves you wanna try, now's the time. Otherwise, I'm gonna go ahead and kill you, okay?" Recoome stated.

"Gohan..." Krillin trailed off, catching Gohan's attention.

"Yeah?" Gohan asked.

"Listen, if Vegeta goes down here, then those freaks are gonna come after us next...and when they do...Greg is going to have to step in since you and I aren't strong enough to face them," Krillin stated before I nodded.

"Yeah, I might be the only one who could handle them, so...no pressure, right?" I remarked, and Gohan perked up.

"Oh yeah, you're stronger than the big guy, so we might still have a chance," Gohan agreed, though I still had a frown on my face.

"Either way, when I give the signal, get Vegeta out of there, and I'll take the big guy's attention off of him," I said just as Recoome started to pose.

"It's time...to...die! Bye, real nice knowing you, Vegeta! Recoome...Eraser...Gun!" Recoome shouted before firing an energy blast from his mouth.

"Now!" I shouted before the three of us took off toward Recoome and Vegeta.

I appeared behind Recoome to send my elbow into his head, which slammed his mouth shut to cancel out his attack, while Gohan and Krillin grabbed Vegeta to get him out of the line of fire, and then the energy blast shot to an island before completely destroying it.

Recoome fell to the ground, dazed from my unexpected ambush as I jumped back to get some distance from the large man, just before I saw the crater where the island used to be, and I grimaced at that.

'Jesus, that attack would've instantly killed Vegeta if it had hit him,' I thought, just before Recoome started groaning in pain and slowly went to get onto his hands and knees.

"Oh...little sneak attack...not bad. You surprised me, that pop you gave me on the top of my head made me close my mouth," Recoome said as he stood up and turned to face me, revealing that he was missing some teeth.

"I got a feeling...I'm gonna be pretty pissed the next time I look in a mirror," Recoome added before I smirked.

"Look at it this way, it'd be a big improvement," I remarked wryly before Recoome looked at Jeice and Burter.

"Hey Jeice, Burter! Do me a favor, let me take the guy with the sword, too! Please? Come on, you don't mind, do you?" Recoome called out before Jeice and Burter shrugged.

"Why not? We can still fight the little ones and finish off Vegeta after you're done with blondie there, then we can celebrate by having hot chocolate sundaes later," Burter replied, which made Recoome grin like a little kid.

"Awesome!" Recoome cheered before facing me.

"You hear that, maggot? You're all mine now," Recoome declared with a sadistic smile, and I shrugged.

"Fine by me, though you wouldn't mind if I do a few stretches, right? Got to limber up first," I requested before Recoome smirked.

"Sure, wouldn't want to end this too quickly," Recoome replied, just before I started doing a few stretching exercises while Krillin, Gohan, and Vegeta watched tensely.

"Are you done yet? I'm getting bored over here," Recoome wondered after a couple of minutes, and I chuckled while finishing up, though I was actually using the stretching exercises to stall for time so that Goku could arrive, but Recoome got impatient, so I'll have to fight him in the meantime.

"Somebody's impatient, though you don't have to wait long since I'm done," I replied before Recoome started grinning.

"Oh boy, now I get to kill you!" Recoome cheered before he started approaching me menacingly, cracking his knuckles while I stood there with a smirk.

"Well, give it your best shot, big guy," I encouraged him while rolling my shoulders and getting ready.

"Recoome...kick!" Recoome shouted before sending his foot at my face.

I was ready for that and dodged, suddenly disappearing, and Recoome spun around while flailing his arms to try to keep his balance since he wasn't expecting me to dodge his attack, just as I appeared nearby and Recoome managed to stop spinning until I let out a sharp whistle to get his attention.

"A piece of advice, try not to announce your moves next time, since your opponent can use that against you," I said while raising a brow, and Recoome looked surprised before grinning.

"That was luck, now try this!" Recoome declared before kicking off into the air and charging at me.

He began throwing punches and kicks at me, but I either blocked or dodged them while Recoome's confidence seemed to fade a little from me keeping up with him, though he flew back and charged up his energy.

"Recoome...boomer!" Recoome yelled before throwing energy balls at me.

I reacted quickly by pulling out my sword and slicing the attacks in half one by one, causing explosions to erupt as I stayed on the move and kept slicing any energy ball that got too close before I sensed Recoome appearing behind me.

"Here I am!" Recoome declared before trying to attack me from behind.

I ducked and flipped back to slam my feet into the large man's face, which sent him flying, so I put my sword away and flew after him at a high rate of speed before appearing above him and charging up an energy blast, letting out a yell as I fired and Recoome was consumed by the attack.

An explosion erupted as a result before I flew back to get some distance, waiting for the smoke cloud to clear up, while I noticed Gohan, Krillin, and even Vegeta looking shocked by how easily I was handling Recoome, though Burter and Jeice looked less smug and more stunned than anything else.

"W-What the hell?! He's keeping up with Recoome, and hurting him!" Burter exclaimed in disbelief.

"It's just luck, that's all," Jeice assured him, though he didn't sound so sure as the smoke cloud cleared up, and I saw Recoome floating in the air with his arms shielding his face.

"Damn, I have to admit that stung a little," Recoome said before lowering his arms to look at me, and I chuckled.

"What can I say? There's more to me than meets the eye," I remarked before Recoome grinned.

"You're a tough one, guess they grow them stubborn where you're from. Well, guess what, I'm stubborn as well!" Recoome stated before I heard the sound of a spacecraft flying nearby.

I glanced up and saw the faint appearance of a ship coming down from space, flying somewhere to land in the distance, and that told me that Goku had arrived since I could sense his energy signature on that ship.

'Well, somebody took their sweet ass time,' I thought wryly, and I started smirking while Recoome and the others noticed the ship.

"What? It's landing," Jeice said, and I chuckled.

"Well, things are going to get interesting," I commented with a grin, knowing that our opponents had no chance now.

I sensed Goku leaving the ship and flying up into the air before powering up with the Kaio-ken, shooting over to our location in seconds and nearly hitting Burter and Jeice in the process before making Recoome spin after flying past him.

Goku came to a stop and lowered himself to the ground, landing gently as I sensed that he was stronger now, his energy level more powerful than Recoome's, Burter's, and Jeice's, so those three were in trouble now.

"You took your time getting here," I joked, and Goku smiled.

"Traffic, what can I say?" Goku remarked wryly while Gohan and Krillin were laughing and looking joyful that Goku was here.

"Hey, you! Who are you?! What do you think you're doing, charging in here?! You know these losers?!" Recoome shouted, but we ignored him as Gohan and Krillin ran over to us.

"It's you...dad, you're really here!" Gohan exclaimed before hugging Goku, who patted him on the back.

"It's okay, son. I'm here, now," Goku reassured him.

"Dad, you have to be careful with these guys," Gohan warned while gesturing at Recoome, Burter, and Jeice before Goku nodded.

"Don't worry, we'll get to that, but I'm going to need to be caught up to speed first," Goku replied before I nodded.

"Yeah, there's a lot you missed that you should know about," I said.

"So, you guys had it pretty rough here, right?" Goku inquired, and Krillin nodded.

"Yeah, things got pretty crazy while we were here, but you're here now, and with you and Greg working together, we have a chance," Krillin said before Goku looked at Vegeta, who was still injured and looking at him with a scowl.

"What happened to Vegeta? He's looking pretty beat up," Goku asked before I gestured at Recoome with my thumb.

"Vegeta fought the big guy over there, but he got pummeled pretty badly by him, so I had to step in," I explained, just as Goku looked thoughtful.

"Hmm...sorry I took so long getting here," Goku said just as Krillin looked troubled.

"Look, man...I know you can already sense it yourself...how strong these guys are? Honestly, if Greg hadn't been here, Gohan and I would've had to fight that big guy, and I doubt things would've gone well for us.

If Vegeta got the crap kicked out of him, what chance would Gohan and I had against him? We wouldn't have stood a chance...you should have seen it, Vegeta was getting knocked around like he-" Krillin said uneasily before he was cut off.

"Right...I heard, but I don't get it, why was Vegeta fighting these guys? Aren't they all on the same side?" Goku wondered, and I scratched the back of my head awkwardly.

"Well, they were, but...let's just say things got complicated," I said hesitantly before Goku placed his hand on Krillin's head, which confused the bald monk.

"You guys don't need to explain, I'll feel it out," Goku said.

"Y-You'll what?" Krillin questioned, but Goku didn't respond as he appeared to be concentrating for a bit, until a smile appeared on his face, and he removed his hand from Krillin's head.

"Oh...so that's it. I saw the whole story...I saw the grand elder, how he gave you three that big power boost, and I saw that Bulma's still safe, and the part about Frieza, and the dragon balls being taken, and even these Ginyu guys.

I got it all," Goku said, making my eyes and Krillin's eyes widen.

"Goku, did you just read his mind? When did you learn how to do that?" I asked in astonishment.

"Well...I don't know, I wasn't really sure it would work. I just had a feeling, and I also saw that Vegeta's still as nasty as ever, but when it came down to it, he was still able to team up with you guys to try to prevent Frieza from using the dragon balls, so I guess we owe him one," Goku explained.

"Wow...Goku...you are seriously freaking me out here," Krillin admitted, just before Goku reached into the small brown bag on his belt and took out a single green bean.

"Huh, good thing we still have two more senzu beans for later," Goku muttered before looking at where Vegeta was, and his eyes narrowed into a slight frown as he studied the Saiyan prince for a bit.

"Hey, Vegeta!" Goku called out, throwing the bean at Vegeta while Recoome tried to snap it up in his mouth, only it shot by him before he could eat it, and Vegeta grabbed the bean.

"That's for you, eat it!" Goku added, and Vegeta looked down at the bean and back at Goku.

"Is there something special about that bean I should know about?" I inquired in confusion.

"Yeah, it can heal any wound you might have, and one of them can have you be full for ten days," Goku explained, and I blinked at that with a surprised expression.

"Wow, that's useful," I said just as Vegeta went to eat the bean, then the Saiyan prince started healing up as cuts and bruises disappeared.

"So, what now?" Krillin wondered before Goku looked back at the rest of us.

"Stay here, I'll take care of these Ginyu guys," Goku replied, making Krillin and Gohan look at him as if he were nuts.

"What?! All of them, by yourself?!" Krillin exclaimed incredulously.

"He means it," Gohan said before I shrugged.

"Well, I softened the big guy up for you, so have fun," I remarked before Goku smiled, then he started looking serious and began approaching Recoome as we all waited to see what would happen next.